Finally, UNIBEN Gets Vice Chancellor

Lagos (THEWILL) - The Governing Council of the University of Benin has appointed Professor Osayuki Oshodin, 59, the Vice- Chancellor of the institution.

The institution’s spokesman, Richmond Omagbemi in a statement announced his appointment saying it takes effect from November 30, 2009. His tenure will be for five years.

His appointment brings to end a long battle over who should be the institutions vice-chancellor. The university was engulfed in series of crisis for more than eight months over who it should appoint into the role of vice-chancellor. The problem started towards the end of the tenure of then Vice-Chancellor Professor E.A.C Nwanze when the institution could not agree on who should succeed him.

In the interim, the government approved the appointment of Professor Uche Gbenedio as acting vice chancellor pending the appointment of a substantive one. Not long after she assumed the role, she was removed under questionable circumstances by the university’s Governing Council in April 2009 and replaced with Prof. Emmanuel Kubenyinje of the University Teaching Hospital, UBTH.

It took the intervention of the minister for education Dr. Sam Egwu before the school’s Governing Council members put their differences aside and chose Professor Oshodin.

The other professors who contested for the position were Professor Friday Okonofua of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Eghafona, Prof. Bob Osaze, Prof. Okemen and Professor Emmanuel Obaseki.

The Edo State born Professor Oshodin joined the university in 1981 as a research fellow and became a professor in 1991. He was former Dean of Education at the university.

The Great UNIBEN as its popularly called is one of Nigeria’s top universities. It was founded in 1970.