At the High Court in Tamale, an application on notice for an interlocutory injunction was filed to prevent the University for Development Studies (UDS), its Council Chairman, and Registrar from announcing Professor Seidu Al-Hassan as the new vice-chancellor of UDS.
Victor Kodjoga Adawudu, Counsel for Emmanuel Osabutey, a former UDS student who is the plaintiff, submitted the application on Thursday, June 9.
The request, a copy of which was viewed by the Ghana News Agency, asks the court for an interlocutory injunction barring Professor Seidu Al-Hassan from holding himself out as the new Vice-Chancellor of UDS until the court makes a final decision on the subject.
It also asks the court to issue an injunction prohibiting the UDS, Professor Wayo Seini, the UDS Council Chairman, and the University Council from ratifying and approving Professor Seidu Al-Hassan as the new Vice-Chancellor of UDS until the Search Committee's Report has been discussed and approved by the University Council Members in accordance with the law.
On July 5, 2022, the case will be transferred.
Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, the present Vice-Chancellor of UDS, will step down at the end of August this year.
In light of this, UDS's Governing Council established a Search Committee in December 2021 to find a suitable candidate to succeed him.
The Search Committee had conducted interviews with around three candidates for the job and was due to submit its findings by May 31st of this year.
GNA has received an appointment letter dated June 1, 2022, naming Professor Seidu Al-Hassan as the new Vice-Chancellor, who will begin his four-year tenure on September 1, 2022.
Professor Wayo Seini, Chairman of the UDS Governing Council, wrote and signed the appointment letter, which said that Professor Al-appointment Hassan's was based on the "Overall conclusion of the comprehensive and lengthy work done by the Search Committee."
Some members of the UDS Council, on the other hand, charged the Council Chairman with violating the University's regulations and statutes by announcing the new Vice-Chancellor unilaterally.
They claimed that under UDS's regulations and statutes, only UDS Council Members, not the Council Chairman acting alone, had the authority to choose Vice-Chancellors for the University.
On June 3, the University published a statement distancing itself from the Chairman's appointment letter, claiming that no new Vice-Chancellor had been announced.
However, on June 6, the University's Registrar issued a disclaimer, stating that the university had not published any disclaimer that a new Vice-Chancellor had been appointed.