PRESS RELEASE
On Sunday, February 2, 2025, our communications channels were overwhelmed with calls from different people concerning allegations contained in a petition reportedly submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by an Abuja-based law firm.
The petition, allegedly filed on behalf of certain anonymous “university staff”, appears to be a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation and distinguished career of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha, fnipr as well as the public standing of the University.
Our first reaction was not to dignify manifest falsehood. But given the reach of this calculated attempt to tarnish both the Ag. VC and the University, we consider it fitting to put out this response for the records.
For the sake of clarity, the University will not lend credence to transparently unfounded accusations made with only one design in mind; nor will we engage in a futile exchange. However, it is necessary to set the record straight for those who may be misled by these unfounded claims:
- As a factual matter, no law enforcement agency has communicated any petition for the attention of the Acting VC nor requested her response regarding any petition. It is unquestionably curious that an alleged petition which has yet to result in any official inquiry has already been turned into a media spectacle. This development exposes the true motives of the faceless beings behind these allegations.
- The ongoing process of the selection of a substantive Vice Chancellor for Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University seems to have created an opportunity for forces of misogyny against the Acting Vice-Chancellor and appears to have inspired this bout of mischievous mudslinging.
- Prof Kate Azuka Omenugha, fnipr is the second female professor of Mass Communications in Nigeria and the first female to head the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. Since being appointed as Ag. Vice-Chancellor of the University on December 5, 2023, Professor Omenugha has spearheaded transformative changes across various facets of the University in terms of values, infrastructure, research, curriculum and standing of the University, including community engagement. These changes have brought to an end the days of unchecked privilege by certain vested interests accustomed to exploiting the University for private ends without respect for constraints or guardrails. Those days are gone and will not return.
- The university community and members of the public should be rest assured that these unfounded allegations and the accompanying cacophony will not deter the Ag. Vice-Chancellor from her passionate and transformative service to our Students, their families, host communities, State and our Country. She continues to work tirelessly with the support of the organs of the University to make Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University a model institution – The Now University and of the Future!
- This statement is issued solely for record purposes and not as a response to falsehood masquerading as facts.
Signed:
Dr. Harrison Madubueze, mnipr
Public Relations Officer,
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University, Anambra State.