Industrial Court Orders Mudiame University to Pay Ex-Vice Chancellor ₦17.6m in Salaries, Taxes, Pensions and Damages
The National Industrial Court, Benin Judicial Division, has ordered Mudiame University to pay its former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest, N5.4 million in outstanding salaries.
The court, presided over by Hon. Justice Adunola Adewemimo, also ordered the university to pay N2.4 million in personal income tax covering October 2021 to February 2023 to the Edo State Tax Authority and remit N2 million in outstanding pension contributions to the claimant’s Pension Fund Administrator.
In addition, the court awarded N7.5 million in general damages to Prof. Ernest over the university’s failure to pay his emoluments as and when due, which the court held amounted to a breach of his terms of employment.
The monetary awards are to be paid within 60 days, while the court also awarded N300,000 in costs against the university.
Prof. Ernest had told the court that he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Mudiame University in September 2021 for a five-year tenure. He said he spent approximately 18 months in the university’s employment before resigning after the institution allegedly stopped paying his salaries and bonuses in 2022.
He maintained that the failure to pay his emoluments, among other issues, contributed to his decision to resign.
Among the reliefs sought by the former vice-chancellor were outstanding salaries, personal income tax, pension contributions and reimbursable expenses. He also sought N67.7 million representing the remaining three years of his tenure, the use of a Toyota Highlander or its N15 million open-market value, and N10 million in general damages.
Mudiame University, however, opposed the claims, arguing that Prof. Ernest failed to give the required three months’ notice before resigning and was therefore liable to pay three months’ salary in lieu of notice.
The university’s counsel argued that damages arising from a breach of contract should be limited to what could reasonably and fairly have been contemplated by the parties at the time the contract was made.
Counsel further argued that the claim for reimbursable expenses was not supported by the necessary approvals and documentary evidence. The university consequently urged the court to dismiss the claims and uphold its counterclaim.
Counsel to Prof. Ernest, in response, relied on his resignation letter and the university’s subsequent acceptance of the resignation. Counsel maintained that his remuneration was payable monthly and urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.
In its judgment, the court held that Mudiame University had breached its contractual obligations by failing to pay Prof. Ernest’s salaries as and when due.
Justice Adewemimo also ruled that having accepted the resignation, the university could not subsequently challenge the effective date of the resignation. The court therefore rejected the university’s argument that Prof. Ernest was liable to pay three months’ salary in lieu of notice.
The court held that the resignation was made in accordance with the terms of the employment contract.
Justice Adewemimo further ruled that the letter of appointment merely stated Prof. Ernest’s total annual remuneration and did not stipulate that his salary was payable annually.
On the claim for salaries covering the unexpired portion of his five-year tenure, the court held that the employment relationship had already ended and Prof. Ernest could not continue to earn salaries for the remaining period of the tenure.
The court also dismissed the claim for the Toyota Highlander or its N15 million open-market value, holding that Prof. Ernest had not completed his five-year tenure and that the claim was not supported by the terms of his employment contract.
The court consequently entered judgment in favour of Prof. Ernest on the applicable monetary claims, awarding N5.4 million in outstanding salaries, N2.4 million in personal income tax, N2 million in pension contributions and N7.5 million in general damages, alongside N300,000 in costs against Mudiame University.
