The Vice Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Professor Fidelis Okafor, has named the first civilian governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwodobo, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Kingsley Muoghalu and a former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCO, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, as those that will receive honorary Doctorate Degrees of the university at the 8th convocation ceremony of the university.

Okafor also debunked insinuation in some quarters that the state government had initiated moves to close down the Uli campus of the university saying that the three campuses of the university are developing simultaneously.

He made the statement at a pre-convocation press briefing at the Igbariam campus of the university. The convocation holds on Friday at the Igbariam campus of the university.

He said the honorary awardees were carefully selected in appreciation of their contributions towards the growth of the nation and the university.

According to him, Nwobodo performed creditably as Governor of the old Anambra State, which comprised of the present Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states, adding that the legacies he left are still evident in the three states.

The VC observed that Muoghalu, as Deputy Governor of CBN, initiated the construction of the female hostels at the Igbariam campus of the university, while Chike Onyejekwe, formerly of SNEPCO, facilitated the building of the multi-million naira e-library in the university.

He added that a total of 2,851 students, who completed their studies in the university during the 2015/2016 academic session, would receive their certificates at the convocation. Of the number, he said, 2378 would receive Bachelor’s degree, 195 would receive Post Graduate Diploma (PGD), 257 would receive Masters Degree, while 21 would receive Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

The breakdown of the first degree showed that 13 obtained First Class Honours, 649 obtained Second Class honours (Upper Division), 1348 obtained Second Class honours (Lower Division), 351 made Third Class, and 71 obtained Pass.

Okafor said the university had regularized its academic calendar because it has been running uninterrupted academic calendar for the past five years, adding that while many university were yet to begin their first semester examinations, COOU would end the 2016/2017 academic year on June 30, 2017.

“The biggest Engineering faculty in Nigeria will be opened at our Uli campus soon, where we also have other Science programmes. The Igbariam campus has its focus on agriculture, where the late Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara, established a farm settlement. It also houses other faculties like Law, Arts, Social Science and Management Sciences, while the Awka campus houses the faculty of medicine and our university teaching hospital,” the VC disclosed.

Update news