The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has been selected by the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) to deliver her 63rd Founders Day anniversary lecture on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
This was disclosed at a press conference to announce the activities slated for the one-week ceremony by the Vice Chancellor, Charles Igwe.
Igwe said that Otti would speak on the topic, ‘Petroluem Subsidy Removal: Dealing with the Challenges, Harnessing the Opportunities.’
Read also: 100 Days as Governor: For Otti, the morning shows the day
According to the VC, Otti was chosen to deliver the lecture based on his track record as a renowned Economist and somebody who also grew in banking industry before joining politics.
“As you may know, Otti is a renowned and celebrated Economist. He had a remarkable career as a banker and rose to become the Executive Director of First Bank PLC and later, the Group Managing Director of the defunct Diamond Bank PLC,” the VC said.
He also said that the chairman of the October 5, 63rd Founder’s Day lecturer would be Elochukwu Amucheazi.
According to him, other activities had also been lined up on Friday, October 6, 2023 (Dignity of Man) Lecture, with Guest Lecturer, Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, Vice Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
Iwe would be speaking on ‘Assessing the Impact of Alumni Association in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.’
There would also be a Novelty Football Match that would take place by 4pm and Akanu Ibiam Stadium Nsukka, preceding a thanksgiving service at St Peters Chaplaincy, Nsukka campus.
“It is on record that the University of Nigeria has produced close to 60 generations of alumni and from our matriculation register more than 200,000 students have gone through University of Nigeria,” Igwe noted
The VC however, said that most of achievements of the university within his tenure were not without some serious challenges ranging from the challenges brought by COVI-19 to poor funding, with the high cost of running the school which include paying very high on electricity, and the high cost of diesel to run generators. He pointed out that from its lean resources, the university spends over N80 million on electricity alone.
Read also: Otti urges leaders to emulate late Mbakwe’s leadership qualities
He reeled out some achievements the school has made under his watch to include getting capital allocation, NEEDS assessment and TETFund intervention, pointing out that such interventions have helped the management to complete a number of projects and embark on new ones.
