Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Professor Charles Igwe, has said that his administration inherited 104 abandoned projects in 2019 when he assumed office.
Igwe disclosed this in Nsukka after taking some media men on inspection of some of the projects executed by his administration.
He said out of the 104 uncompleted projects, 73 had been completed while 31 were ongoing and would be completed before the end of his tenure on June 14, 2024.
“Those abandoned projects include projects from TETFUND interventions, Needs Assessments, Capital allocations, and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“The good news is that my administration have completed 73 of the inherited projects while the remaining 31 are ongoing.
“I decided to complete inherited abandoned projects because I believed that government is a continuity.
“Some of the completed projects include the renovation of staff quarters; the Cultural Centre building for Institute of African Studies; building for Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
“Blocks A, B and C at Ituku-Ozalla; construction and equipment of the Central Laboratory at Nsukka campus as well as completion of Department of Archeology building at Nsukka Campus; rehabilitation of the Old Library Building at Nsukka campus, among others,” he said.
The Vice-chancellor added that his administration initiated 257 projects, out of which 149 have been completed, while the remaining 108 projects were at various levels of completion.
He listed some of the projects initiated and completed by his administration to include, the re-roofing of the Faculty of Arts building, Block A and B, completing and equipping of Medical Center building at Nsukka campus.
Others are rehabilitation of the College of Postgraduates building and remodeling of Centre of Entrepreneurship Development and Research (CEDR) building as well as renovation of hostels at Enugu Campus, among others.
“I expect that all the projects initiated by my administration will be completed before the end of my tenure, as most of them are already 90 per cent completed,” he said.
According to the VC, his administration has converted a total of 259 staff from one cadre to another, over 170 non-teaching staff who upgraded their qualifications have been converted to academic staff.
“Over 170 non-teaching staff who upgraded their qualifications are converted to academic staff, while over 89 staff, who are stagnated for years in a particular cadre, promoted to match their qualifications and experiences.
“My administration has also promoted a total of 197 deserving academic staffs to the position of professorship,” he said.
Igwe also disclosed that UNN was presently building 12,000 hostel bed spaces under the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) which, when completed, would provide conducive and affordable hostel accommodation for students.
“The transparent policy of my administration has renewed the confidence as our alumni, individuals and groups, have donated buildings, and equipment and instituted scholarships for our students.
“Our achievements go beyond physical infrastructure to include the encouragement of our staff to conduct impact-based research, that is why we challenge our staff to tailor their researches towards solving societal problems,” he said.
The VC noted that the university was able to record these achievements because of its prudent management of available resources, as well as maintaining good cordial relationship between the management, staffs and students of the university.
Igwe, however, explained that, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the 2022 eight months nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and poor funding remained the main challenges of his administration.
