Nine Professors in the University of Calabar are jostling for the position of the Vice Chancellor of the University.
DAILY POST gathered that the tenure of the incumbent Vice Chancellor, Prof Zana Akpagu expires on December 1, 2020.
The list of aspirants include Prof. Offiong Offiong of the Department of Chemistry: Prof. Joseph Asor (Biological Sciences); Prof. Ndiyo Ayara (Economics); Prof Francis Bisong (Geography) and Prof Florence Obi, (Education) and former Commissioner for Women Affairs, and former Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics.
Others are Prof. Patrick Asuquo (Education Administration); Prof. Eyong Ubana (English); Prof. Benedict Ita (Chemistry) and Prof Anne Asuquo (Medical Microbiology).
Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, Prof. Offiong Offiong of the Department of Chemistry said that the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar was declared vacant in May 2020 and by December 1st 2020, the incumbent will be out of the office.
He said he will consolidate on most of the achievement of his predecessor and will move the University forward, particularly in recent time that universities are talking about ranking worldwide.
“It is my desire to move our University among the four best Nigerian Universities. I am a product of that University from 1st decree and Ph.D and it has been the only place I have worked apart from the assignment I had in government for eight years as a Commissioner.
“I am proud of that University and I believe that the University in our State can also be projected in a way that it can in turns bring a lot of development to our state.
“We need academic leadership, the VC has to provide this and I am going to provide most purpose driven academic leadership for the University community
“When we talk about VC, we are talking about a leader in a very enlightened system; we are talking about visionary leader, talking about a man that is able to build a university, and move the university forward” he stated.