Ex-commissioner Emerges Vice- Chancellor Of Nigerian University

Simon Ortuanya, a former commissioner of education in Enugu State, has been appointed as the 16th substantive vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

The spokesperson of UNN, Agha Inya, announced this in a statement on Sunday night.

“His appointment was ratified on Sunday by the Governing Council of the University, following a transparent and merit-based selection process chaired by Engr. Kayode Ojo, Chairman of the Governing Council,” Mr Inya said.

“The university community congratulates Professor Ortuanya on his appointment and looks forward to a new era of academic excellence and transformational leadership,” he added.

The new vice-chancellor at a glance

Mr Ortuanya is a professor of law at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.

From 2007 to 2015, he served as the commissioner for education under the administration of the then-Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime.

In 2017, he became the director general of the South-east Governors Forum.

Two years later, the professor of law was appointed as the Secretary to the Enugu State Government under the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

He hails from Ohodo, a community in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Before now, the people of Nsukka, which hosts the university, had been agitating for the emergence of an indigene as the substantive vice-chancellor of the institution for the first time since its existence in the 1950s.

Igbo-Etiti, though a separate local government area in Enugu, is among the areas that make up the Nsukka Cultural Zone.

With the latest appointment, Mr Ortuanya becomes the first Nsukka man to hold the coveted position of vice-chancellor of the university.