The Nigerian government has nullified the contentious appointment of Christopher Ogbogbo, a professor specializing in African History from the University of Ibadan, who had been named the Vice-Chancellor of Admiralty University, Ibuzor, Delta State.
The government has also officially endorsed the selection of Lucian Chukwu, a professor who ranked first in the recruitment process.
This information is detailed in a statement issued by Folasade Boriowo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, which was made available to journalists on Saturday.
“In line with the principle of merit being upheld by the federal government, the Honourable Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, has approved the appointment of Lucian O. Chukwu as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of Admiralty University, Ibuzor. The appointment is for a single tenure of five years, effective 28 February 2025,” Mrs Boriowo wrote in the statement.
The pro-chancellor, Dele Ezeoba, a retired vice-admiral and former Chief of Naval Staff of Nigeria, also issued a statement confirming the appointment of Mr Chukwu.
“The Governing Council of Admiralty University of Nigeria, Ibusa, Delta State has approved the appointment of Lucian Chukwu as Vice Chancellor.
“Chukwu was appointed following his emergence as the best candidate in the selection interview conducted by the Joint Selection Board,” he wrote.
“This appointment is in tandem with the policy of merit based leadership of our tertiary institutions, which is one of the cardinal policies of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”
An exclusive report previously detailed how Mr Chukwu ranked highest after a rigorous selection process, which involved KPMG, a globally recognized human resource consultancy firm, followed by an interview session conducted by the university council’s joint selection board.
Based on the joint selection board’s report, which was reviewed, the top five candidates were interviewed between Monday, 24 and Wednesday, 26 February, and were graded according to their performance.
Mr Chukwu secured the highest score with 83.41 percent, while Mr Ogbogbo came in second with a score of 72.5 percent.
However, a group of university council members convened a meeting without the pro-chancellor, Mr Ezeoba, where they proceeded to appoint and announce Mr Ogbogbo as the Vice-Chancellor.
The pro-chancellor denounced the gathering as illegitimate and subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Education, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the appointment and the confirmation of the candidate who rightfully came first in the selection process.
Prior to this new appointment, Mr Chukwu, a professor, served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Mr Chukwu’s area of expertise includes Ecotoxicology, Environmental Risk and Impact Assessment Strategies, as well as Integrated Coastal Area Management.
He completed his doctoral degree in Ecosystem Health and Pollution Management at the University of Lagos and later pursued postdoctoral training in Integrated Coastal Management at the Coastal Resources Institute, University of Rhode Island, USA.
He has been a faculty member at the University of Lagos for more than three decades.
Mr Chukwu has also served as a consultant to numerous national and international bilateral and multilateral organizations, including: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Experts Group on Environment and Development in West and Central Africa; the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO Ocean Data and Information Network in Africa (ODINAFRICA) Project; and the United Nations Pool of Experts for the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment.
He has contributed to major projects focused on developing frameworks for enhancing coastal resilience and watershed management in Nigeria’s coastal ecosystems.
Mr Chukwu has also participated in Visiting Fellowship Programmes at Harvard University, Massachusetts Boston, USA; Darden Business School, University of Virginia, USA; University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia; University of Newcastle, Australia; and Soochow University, China.
He has taken part in and served as a resource person at numerous national and international conferences, workshops, and training programmes across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
He is affiliated with several professional organizations and holds the titles of Fellow of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation (FEnv) and Fellow of the West African Society of Toxicology (FWASOT).
