Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Releases Post UMTE Result

Students who chose Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike as their choice of preferred University took their Post Unified Tertiary Martriculation Examination on 20^th and 21th of August 2015 at the University and the results were also published that same day. The Direct Entry Students are scheduled to take theirs on the 11^th of September 2015.

The information on ground shows that over Fourteen Thousand students chose the University as their preferred choice while the university’s quota is about four Thousand plus.
According to statistics, as at 2011, the university’s quota was just 1,250 One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Students which the university was unable to exhaust because of the low interest of students in choosing to study in the university which was seen as a glorified secondary school.

It is also notable to say that the quota of the university started appreciating since the inception of Prof. Hilary Odo Edeoga as the Forth Vice Chancellor of the University on March 1^st, 2011. The increase in the admission of students was born out of the zeal of the Vice Chancellor to rebrand the university and move it to international standard. Edeoga achieved this by first creating an enabling studying environment which includes

1. Building Ten ultra-modern hostels fully equipped with constant light and water supply within his 1st year in office through Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
2. Took students’ welfare as his utmost priority.
3. Acquiring Kia Rio and Hyundai saloon cars 45 in number to reduce the transport fare and ease transportation from the Campus to The Town.
4. Introduction of many Courses in the University.
5. Tackling infrastructural deficit the university suffered since it was established. 

Today, MOUAU is among the Nigerian Universities to reckon with, every parent wants their children to study in MOUAU because of the standard set by Prof Edeoga who is not yet tired with his zeal to give the University a good name.

"It is only a tree that has fruits that will get stones thrown at it" ”… Prof H O Edeoga, VC, MOUAU (Source: The Punch (August 8, Page 46))

Those who persecute me can’t even spell their names–Edoga, VC, MOUAU 

The Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Professor Hilary Edeoga, in this interview with STEPHEN UKANDU, reacts to the allegation of corruption levelled against him and his administration

In recent times, there have been avalanche of allegations of corrupt practices levelled against you by some members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in your school. Why did you engage in these corrupt practices?

The person who is behind all these is the former Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme Director who was removed for incompetence.   Another one is the former Continuing Education Centre Director who was also removed because he stayed in CEC as Director for five years without graduating an ant. I had to remove him and put somebody who started working hard and graduated the backlog of students. At a point under the former director, students spent several years without graduating. Another one is a former Head of Department and a Deputy Director of CEC. He scored a student 40 per cent over 30 per cent and scored every other person zero. When somebody scores such outrageous marks, what do you think happened? Then the senate decided to investigate it along with other reports against him. So, an investigation panel was set up which followed due process according to the university’s laws to investigate him. When we got to a certain stage of the due process, he went to court. Let me ask you a question; if your wife takes you to court, do you still stay under the same roof with her? When that happens, our laws say that any member of staff including the Vice Chancellor that takes the university to court should be suspended pending the determination of the matter. When that happened, he claimed that he was being persecuted because he was the former chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities. But I know that ASUU cannot condone somebody mutilating results or victimising students. ASUU will also not condone a situation where your wife is not qualified and you want her to be given an employment just because you are ASUU Chairman.

NO CRISIS IN MICHAEL OKPARA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, UMUDIKE

In every human community there are those that strive to make things happen, striving to expand the frontiers of development and make a difference in their society. This breed of progressive minds, through their personal and collective efforts, gives their best to their community and in turn derives maximum satisfaction from the attendant development. At the opposite end, however the dark minds crouch and work and even pray against the success of every enterprise embarked upon by the positive minds. The vile-minded persons neither improve themselves nor contribute to the development of their community. In fact the word development is an anathema to them hence should not be given space to blossom.

Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State has, unfortunately, found itself saddled with anti-development elements, who have sworn to see nothing good in the visionary leadership of Professor Hilary Odo Edeoga, the Vice-chancellor of the institution. The naysayers, who congregate in the name of “concerned ASUU members”, have been sowing seeds of discord among staff and students. But when they found they were not making any headway in their divisive mission they went to town and, not surprisingly, found willing tools in two local tabloids, The Eastern Reckoner and National Ambassador to propagate their falsehoods. The media practitioners (if they actually merit that noble title) in the two tabloids displayed the most reckless and unethical practice by publishing all the falsehoods fed them by the concerned ASUU members without making a modicum of effort to verify the information. Obviously the two local papers were already suffused with irrelevance and to the editors the only way out of their doldrums was to engage in sensational publication to entertain their gullible readers. What a shame!

The reaction of staff and students of our great University to the falsehoods and outlandish claims made by the dissidents have deflated the insidious propaganda. But we still deem it pertinent to put the records straight for those outside the MOUAU community who may not be familiar with the trend of events in the institution. To start with, there is need to define the so called concerned ASUU members and properly situate them in order to understand their motive in correct perspective. The people behind the malicious falsehoods are not amorphous even though they chose to hide under the veil of concerned ASUU members MOUAU chapter (as if it is national body). The MOUAU dissidents are well known to their fellow academic staff and the authorities of the University. There are not more than five lecturers that bandied together to wear the toga of concerned ASUU members, constituting an infinitesimal 0.6 percent of the total academic strength of 764 lecturers in the institution.

11 Deans get brand new cars

The VC of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Professor Hilary Edeoga has commissioned eleven brand new 2014 Toyota corolla cars for the official use of the deans of the eleven colleges in the University. This is in line with his principle of giving utmost priority to staff and students’ welfare and his transformation agenda towards making the university to become part of the global University. 

In his remarks, Prof. Edeoga said that his administration has provided five brand new 45 seaters Hyundai buses, 45 brand new Kia Rio and Hyundai cars to serve as campus shuttle to ease transportation within and outside the University. He also mentioned the provision of 20 Suzuki small cars for intra-campus taxi while 20 more will be added making it 40 Suzuki cars in two weeks ahead.

Prof. Edeoga also stated that all the principal officers have been provided with befitting cars to aid in their official duties.  He reminded the Deans that the vehicles are strictly for official use and advised them to handle them as they handle their private cars to prolong the life span.

The VC thanked the staff and students of the university who are dedicated to moving the university forward, saying that without their support, the management wouldn’t have achieved much. He also thanked the Federal government for its financial support which is making it possible to actualize the managements dream. 

He further thanked the genuine gentlemen of the press who have refused to be used by the few dissidents of ASUU to publish falsehood intended to malign the management of the University.

The VC lauded the efforts of Michael Okpara who brought about the college of Agriculture which metamorphosed into a University Of Agriculture and asked to sustain the vision he (Michael Okpara) had and said that instead of allowing his dreams to die, we should fight harder to make sure that it gets to where he never imagined.