What appears more like a mickey mouse game between the Imo State Government under Senator Hope Uzodinma and former governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha came to an end on Wednesday as the state has recovered the Eastern Palm University, renamed Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Ogboko, Ideato North LGA of the state.
Since Uzodinma came into power in 2020, he has vigorously followed the process of recovering government property and lands from Okorocha and family members.
In the course of the battle, Okorocha went to court to challenge the process even as White Paper on the recovery has been gazetted by the state.
Trumpeta learnt that when the plans to relocate Imo State University from Owerri to Okorocha’s Ogboko country home failed, he continued raising structures at the location with state funds and logistics. Before the end of his tenure in 2019 he had already announced the institution as Imo European University before giving it the Eastern Palm University.
According to what the former governor told the public, the EPU now KOMU was a Public Private Partnership, PPP, between his Rochas Foundation and the state government where the state has only 10% while his Foundation controls 90% ownership of the higher institution.
However, the Uzodinma administration kicked against the claims and went ahead with the recovery program. First, the present administration changed the name from EPU to KOMU and even ordered it shut. The former landed the premises and declared that the school be reopened for academic programs. The ding-dong affair continued until this NUC confirmation.
While Okorocha is still relying on court litigation to stop the state government to get possession of the KOMU, Uzodinma has carefully regained the institution with the National Universities Commission, NUC, officially recognizing the university as Imo State owned university.
An event in Abuja showed where the NUC presented a letter of recognition to the governor as testimony of the confirmation.
According to the letter Uzodinma brandished during the presentation,
“With effect from Wednesday 8th December 2021, K.O Mbadiwe University, Ogboko is formally recognized as the 42nd State University and the 143rd University in the Nigerian University System”.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abubarkar Adamu Rasheed, who presented the letter to Governor Uzodinma praised the Governor for his doggedness and commitment towards educational development and human capital development.
