By Tony Adibe
The Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah has inaugurated the newly constituted Governing Council of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), in line with Section 6 (1) of ESUT Establishment Law, emphasising that education remained the strongest weapon to fight poverty.
The Governing Council has Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa as Chairman with Prof. Ikenna Chukwu, Engr. James Ifeanyi, Mrs. Gladys Okoro, Hon. Chinedu Onu and Dr. Eric Oluedo as members. Governor Mbah said that the Governing Council was constituted based on competence and the expressed confidence that the institution and state government would benefit from members of the Council, given their track records, networks, and experience.
Mbah, while calling on the new Governing Council to ensure operational effectiveness of the institution, urged both Council and the Management to work hand-in-hand to realise the lofty dreams for which the institution was founded.
He said: “You know that your responsibility as the Governing Council of the University is widespread and is far-reaching. And it is my hope that you are going to cultivate a harmonious relationship with the management team of the university. You should see your roles as complementary. That is the only way we can achieve the objective of the university.
“Of course, our expectation is that you are going to put in place an effective control in the area of management of finance and the investment of the university; and that you are going to see yourselves as bringing value to what the management team of the university is doing. So, it is our hope and belief that there will be a harmonious relationship between the Council and the Management of the university.
“It is also my hope that this inauguration would in effect redouble the operational effectiveness of the university.” He reminded the members of the Governing Council that their appointments came at a very auspicious time when the government had earmarked 33 per cent of the annual budget for education, stressing that it underscored his administration’s belief that “education is the strongest weapon with which to fight poverty.”
“We are constructing 260 smart schools across the 260 wards of our state. We are establishing a Centre for Experiential Learning. Similar centers like the tech hubs and the innovation hubs are also being set up in the university.
“Therefore, we are taking education as the number one priority in our government because we believe that if we are going to achieve a zero percent rate in our poverty head count index, education is the fastest and surest way towards achieving that,” Governor Mbah said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Governing Council, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, thanked Dr. Mbah for finding them worthy, noting also that the governor made history, as more than 80 per cent of the appointees studied at ESUT. He assured that the Governing Council would go the extra mile to meet the governor’s set targets and match his speed, while also maintaining cordiality with the school management.
“We are assuring you that we will have a seamless working relationship with the Vice-Chancellor and his management. We are also assuring you that we are going to bring to bear due process since we have all been through the mill,” he stated.
While noting that ESUT had been underfunded over the years and urging for more funding, he was quick to add that the allocation of 33 per cent to education in the 2024 state budget underscored Mbah’s readiness to change the narrative.
“Allocating 33 per cent of the total budget to education is not a joke. It shows that we will be progressing from smart schools to smart ESUT and to smart Enugu State. And it is my prayer that at the fullness of time, history will be kind to you,” he said.
