UNIZIK VC GETS DEATH THREATS

The Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik), Awka, Prof. Boniface Egboka, has said he would not be cowed by the various death threats being sent to him by unknown people. For sometime now, Egboka was said to have been receiving death threats through text messages from people believed to be members of the university community, apparently because of his present war against indiscipline and corruption in the university.

But Egboka, who disclosed the threats while swearing-in newly appointed principal officers of the university, stated boldly that he was not perturbed about the threats as he had been fair to all in the discharge of his duties.

The VC, who did not give details of the death threats, however, said he was more concerned about ways of uplifting the infrastructure and academic standards of the institution, than bothering about threats to his life.

Charging the newly appointed principal officers and the old ones, including the deans and directors in the institution, to live up to their responsibilities, Egboka warned, sternly, that the university under his administration would not condone indiscipline and dereliction of duty in any form.

The appointment of the principal officers, he said became imperative following the Governing Council's belief that staff should not be kept long in acting positions as it would not motivate them to put in their best.

The newly appointed officers included the Registrar, Mr. Chukwudi Okeke; Bursar, Mr. James Udoka; Director of Information, Mr. Emma Ojukwu; Director of Internal Audit, Mr. Gozie Egwuatu, and Director of Sports, Mr. Peter Makasi.

Speaking extensively on his achievements in the last one year in office, the VC stated that he had followed due process and been fair in all disciplinary cases so as to reduce avoidable and unnecessary litigations against the institution. According to him, the university spent millions of naira yearly on litigations but thanked God that with his new approach, many court cases, instituted by staff and students against the university, had been withdrawn, saving Unizik both finance and embarrassment.

Furthermore, Egboka noted that he had in keeping with the 14-point agenda set by the Governing Council of the institution succeeded in giving human face to administration of the university. Egboka announced that the university had solved the problem of over-stay students, noting that about 2, 000 of them had been graduated after many years of waiting, assuring that the issue had been given a final solution.