By NewsBits
The Alumni Association of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State led by their national president Nze Henry Chukwukadibia, on Sunday, 25th February 2024, presented Founders’ Award to the former Governor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo as one of the founders of the institution.
Nze Chukwukadibia said the award is in recognition of Nwobodo’s “outstanding leadership, commitment to service and passion for education exhibited as the Governor of old Anambra State in establishing schools and institutions of higher learning most especially College of Arts, Science and Technology Oko which has metamorphosed to Federal Polytechnic Oko.
“We salute your envisioned education excellence built with the quality of your actions and the integrity of your intent which has made our alma mater to become the Polytechnic of the Moment in Nigeria.”
He further said: “Jim Nwobodo signed the edict that transformed the school from College of Arts, Science and Technology to a diploma awarding institution, while Babangida signed the edict that made it a Federal Polytechnic.
‘We decided to chronicle these progenitors; first Alex Ekwueme the initiator to Jim Nwobodo who signed the law making it a Polytechnic to Ndu who was the principal when it was a college and organised the school when it became a Polytechnic to Babangida who signed the law making it a federal polytechnic. Nze Chukwukadibia presenting the award to Jim Nwobodo.
“Knowing Nwobodo and what he stood for in Education. He was a teacher at Kings College. When he became a governor, he established a lot of institutions including fed. Poly Oko. The Anambra State University of Technology, ASUTECH has been unbundled into three universities, College of Education Eha Amufu, College of Education Nsugbe.
“For a leader like him, who invested so much in Education, the only thing we can do is to thank him and show our appreciation. We want to assemble these our founders for the world to know why Oko is thick and it’s rich history and that’s why we’re initiating an annual lecture tagged ‘General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida Annual Lecture’, to celebrate these our founders.
In his response, Senator Nwobodo, who thanked the Alumni for the honour, expressed worry with the current situation of education in the country, noting incessant strike actions as one of the impediments to the growth of Education in the country. He added that his “investment in Education was propelled by the desire to make it available to all and this led to the formation of multiple campuses which has today metamorphosed into three universities.”
On the proliferation of universities in the country, the elder statesman said the universities are never enough because the number of persons applying for higher education in the country is huge “but attention should be paid to ensure that the quality doesn’t drop.”
