Ascertain true ownership of university, panel tells Ihedioha
By Val Okara, Owerri.
The seven-man committee inaugurated by Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo state to investigate the status of newly established tertiary institutions in the state by the immediate past administration has advised the state government to institute a judicial panel of inquiry to ascertain the ownership and funding of Eastern Palm University, Ogboko in Ideato South council area of the state.
The committee also recommended the university be turned into a campus of the Imo state University, Owerri, housing the faculties of management and social sciences.
Chairman of the committee Prof. Jude Njoku said that the institution, although recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as the second state university with an acting vice chancellor and a governing council should not be allowed to operate as a full -fledged university in view of the lean resources of the state.
The committee stated that the site of the university was acquired by the state government and full compensation was paid to the land owners by the state government.
Prof. Njoku, who was former commissioner for education in the state, discounted that Eastern Palm University has 28 programmes out of which only two were functional.
He disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the findings and recommendations of his committee, saying that the committee is equally of the view that both the Imo state University of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Aboh/Okpala and the University of Science and Technology, Umuna should remain campuses of the Imo state University, Owerri.
According to the committee, the University of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Aboh/Okpala would be the campus for agriculture and veterinary medicine while that of Umuna would be for engineering as earlier conceived by the laws establishing the Imo state University, Owerri.
Prof. Njoku, also said that the committee first invited and interacted with all the key actors in the process of establishing the institutions which included members of the project implementation committee set up by the immediate past governor of the state, those appointed vice chancellors, rectors and provosts of the affected institutions.
“The committee found out that all the universities have enabling laws enacted by the Imo state House of Assembly, while it was only Bishop Shanaham among the polytechnics that had such enabling an law,” adding that the committee visited all the tertiary institutions involved for an on-the spot assessment of facilities and structures on site.
He noted that the state government in future may wish to upgrade these campuses to full -fledged universities and polytechnics as the need and resource might dictate and permit.
Also, he recommended the termination of the appointments of all the vice chancellors, rectors, principal officials and members of the governing councils of the newly established institutions while all the properties belonging to such institutions should be recovered.
