COOU Staff Urge Governor Soludo to Appoint Substantive Vice-Chancellor

Staff members of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), owned by Anambra State, have appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to appoint a substantive Vice-Chancellor (VC) for the institution, bringing an end to the prolonged selection process.

In a statement issued on Wednesday in Awka, the staff noted that COOU has been without a substantive VC since the tenure of Prof. Greg Nwakoby ended in December 2023. They commended Governor Soludo for upholding due process throughout the selection period and lauded the Governing Council for its thorough and transparent handling of the appointment process.

The statement was jointly signed by Professors Peter Okonkwo, Stephen Unachukwu, and Mbanefo Odum on behalf of the university staff.

According to the group, the search and selection committees have completed their tasks and submitted their final recommendations to Governor Soludo. This was also confirmed by the Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, who disclosed that the recommendations were submitted to the Governor earlier in August.

The staff urged Soludo to act on the committee’s recommendations promptly, emphasizing that the process was one of the most transparent and credible in the university’s history.

“Governor Soludo, as the Visitor to the university, deserves commendation for refusing to influence the outcome and for respecting the integrity of the university system,” the statement read.
“We also applaud the seven-member Joint Council/Senate Selection and Appointment Committee for conducting a seamless and unanimously accepted process. With the assignment completed and submitted, the next step, as stipulated by Ordinance 11 (4d), is for the Visitor to appoint the candidate who ranked first.”

The staff reiterated their call on Governor Soludo to honor the commitment he made during the university’s last convocation—to announce the new VC once the recommendations were received.