By Tobi Soniyi and Alex Enumah
The National Industrial Court has ordered the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Prof. Anthony Emeribe, to remain in office pending the time the court will rule on his application to restrain the council and the Minister of Health from interfering with his appointment as Registrar/CEO.
Justice Peter Lifu of the NIC sitting in Abuja had last Friday extended an earlier ex-parte order granted the claimant on the 9th of March to June 3, 2016, the date when the court will rule on another motion filed by Emeribe for Interlocutory Injunction to restrain the council from interfering with his duties as registrar.
Emeribe in suit no: NICN/ABJ/62/2016 is seeking an order from the court to stop his employer from interfering with his appointment.
The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria had by a letter dated 19th February 2016 approved the placement of an advertisement for the post of Registrar/CEO of the council, a post the applicant currently occupies.
Irked by the step taken by the council, Emeribe filed a suit at the industrial court and sought among others: A declaration that the letter dated February 19th 2016 written by the 1st defendant (Minister of Health) is ultra vires and contrary to the provision of the Medical Laboratory Science Council Act 2003 and thereby null and void;
A declaration that his appointment as the Registrar/ CEO of Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria as per a letter of renewal of appointments dated 17th December 2014 remains valid and subsisting till 19th july 2018;
An injunction restraining the defendants or their agents from interfering with his appointment as Registrar/CEO of the 2nd defendant.
He also filed an exparte application for the court, to, in the interim restrain the defendants from removing him from office pending the the determination of the substantive suit.
Ruling on this exparte application, Justice Lifu on March 9th, 2016 ordered the defendants not to interfere with the appointment of Emeribe as Registrar/CEO until the hearing and determination of his application for Interlocutory Injunction.
In the motion, Emeribe sought an order to restrain the defendants from interfering with the his appointment pending the determination of the substantive suit.
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