Following his appointment as Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt by the Federal Government, Professor Stephen Okodudu, has assumed office on Monday, July 13, 2020. The Acting Vice Chancellor took over from the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Regina Ogali, who has been overseeing the affairs of the University.
Speaking during a brief handover ceremony held in the Vice Chancellor’s Committee Room, the Acting Vice Chancellor said his mandate is to restore peace in the University. He disclosed that he has already initiated measures aimed at bringing lasting peace in the academic community by reaching out to major stakeholders including past Vice Chancellors of the University.
“Let me start by saying that it is like we are having a re-union because there is hardly any of the Principal Officers here that I have not worked with in the past 27 years as a staff of the University. After receiving my appointment letter as the Acting Vice Chancellor, I was given a mandate to restore peace in the University. I want to believe that we will quickly address the issues that may be outstanding. I accept this appointment as one of the other responsibilities stated in my appointment letter when I was offered appointment as an Assistant Lecturer,” the Acting Vice Chancellor said.
Professor Okodudu, who noted that the administration of the University system is a collective endeavour, stated that any decision taken to restore peace would be wholly for the best interest of the University. The Acting Vice Chancellor added that he would in no distant time present his inaugural speech.
Presenting the account of her stewardship which spanned from Friday, June 12 to Friday, July 10, 2020, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Regina Ogali said: “What we are doing here today is the official handover to the new Acting Vice Chancellor. We have prepared the official records of activities and this is the state of the University as at Friday, July 10, 2020.”
Professor Okodudu who is of the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, was a former Dean, Student Affairs and a former Director of the College of Continuing Education. The appointment of Professor Okodudu as Acting Vice Chancellor was conveyed in a letter from the Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, dated Wednesday, 24th June, 2020. Professor Okodudu’s appointment which is for a period of six months, was approved by the Visitor to the University of Port Harcourt and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.
Credit: OTIKOR SAMUEL and LETOM NNEN