Excitement In COOU As Substantive VC Sets To Emerge After Successful Senate Election
The Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam on July 9 held an election to nominate its representatives in the Vice Chancellor selection committee leaving the institution with an air or excitement and anxiety.
The election which was held at the Senate Chambers of the University was adjudged by Senate members and observers as successful, credible, transparent, peaceful and in total compliance with extant rules.
Dispute as to the method of voting was subjected to voting for Senate members to decide for themselves and after the counting, 152 out 200 present voted for a secret ballot system against 48 who supported option A4.
At the end of the election, candidates and their scores were as follows: Rev. Fr. Prof. Ezeogamba, 43; Prof. Idemobi, 41;
Prof. Akam, 39; Prof. Ikechebelu, 32,
Prof. Ifeka, 23 and Prof. Obi Zitta, 17.
The top three candidates will now join the five Council representatives to make up the 8-member Vice Chancellor Selection Committee that will interview and make recommendations to the Visitor.
Recall that a similar election was purportedly held on Dec. 18, 2024 but was nullified by Gov. Chukwuma Soludo in his capacity as the Visitor following a myriad of allegations and protests that the Ag. Vice Chancellor singlehandedly appointed the nominees in defiance of all known Senate rules.
Attempts by the Ag. Vice Chancellor to manipulate the Thursday election was resisted by the insistence that the process should be through a secret ballot against her choice of Option A4 which would have put senators under pressure.
Insider sources revealed that only one out of the three candidates the Ag. Vice Chancellor nominated made it to the last three.
The source said this was the reason for the media attack on the Commissioner for Education who only monitored the election on behalf of the University Council and never interfered in the process.
According to the source, the thing about the election was that it was started with prayers and closed with prayers by Reverend Priests amid happiness, handshakes and pat on the by Senators who took part in the exercise.
“We want to salute the astuteness of the Chairman and members of the Election Committee which conducted the most credible and peaceful election that has saved a very volatile situation in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu
Ojukwu University,” it said.
