“Abia Agenda Should Not Override Competence” — Emma Nwaka

A former House of Assembly candidate in the 2019 general elections, Hon. Emma Nwaka has lent his voice in the call for integrity and competence to be the yard stick in the choice of the next Vice Chancellor for the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), as the search intensifies.

In a statement from his base in England, the Umudike born politician opined that the idea that having an Abia as the new Vice Chancellor should not be the criteria for the position, adding that anyone who should fill the position should be a competent person with vast knowledge and experience in school management.

“We are talking about an academic environment here. Our priority should be merit, excellence, integrity and competence. If we want the best for MOUAU any such extraneous suggestion should never be featured at all.”

He urged the Pro Chancellor of the institution Comrade Michael Ede to strike off any such factor as “Abia Agenda” from the Governing Council’s deliberations as they appraise the qualifications of applicants for the office of the Vice Chancellor.”

While he expressed confidence in the Pro Chancellor to do what is right, Hon. Nwaka is of the opinion that anyone who has the good of Abia State at heart and is competent enough to do the job should be regarded as an Abian.

He argued that from his assessment, the Vice Chancellor who took MOUAU to the zenith of its development in terms of academic and infrastructural development was not from Abia State.

“If from the records before us, MOUAU has never excelled because the Vice Chancellor came from Abia State. Why must we use ‘State of Origin’ as a factor in appraisal of candidates for the office? Can you see why we should consider such a suggestion as a scam?”

Recall that the search for a new Vice Chancellor for the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike MOUAU is in progress as the governing council considers applications from various interested persons.

Reports say there were alleged plans by some members of staff to stage a protest, in a way to demand that the new Vice Chancellor must come from Abia State.

Dreamnews learnt that the Department of State Services DSS has invited some of them for questioning.