By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
The Public Relations Officer of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU, Dr. Harrison Madubueze, has described a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against the institution’s Acting Vice Chancellor as baseless and the handiwork of desperados, saying his boss has no time to engage them.
It will be recalled some staff members of the institution had petitioned the EFCC against what they described as financial misappropriation and fraudulent awarding of contracts against the Ag VC, Prof Mrs Azuka Omenugha, through an Abuja law firm.
But reacting to it in a press release signed by COOU’s image maker and made available to newsmen, Madubueze said on Sunday, February 2, that the varsity’s communications channels were overwhelmed with calls from different people concerning allegations contained in the said petition.
According to the release, the petition, allegedly filed on behalf of certain anonymous “university staff” is a calculated attempt to tarnished the reputation and distinguished career of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha, 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 the 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 that 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 substantiation for the office of Vice- Chancellor at 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 Omenugha, is the second female Professor of Mass Communications in Nigeria and the first female to head the COOU. Since being appointed as Ag. VC of the University on 5 December, 2023, Professor Omenugha has spearheaded transformative change 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 can be rest assured that these unfounded allegations and the accompanying cacophony will not deter the Ag. VC from her passionate and transformative service to our students and their families, our host communities, and our 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,’ the statement read.
