By Editor
Governor Rochas Okorocha’s dream of having a world class university in his home town of Ogboko, in Ideato-South local government area of Imo state, may have materialized with the building of Eastern Palm University.

But questionable managerial skills are now robbing the University of a smooth take-off.

Plans to begin academic activities at the University last November failed to materialize due to the delay by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to give its final nod to courses so far listed for operation.

However, when the nod was finally given, it became apparent that the university may never take off due to management issues which pitched the first Vice Chancellor, Prof. Linus Osuagwu, poached from American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa state, against pro-chancellor of the university, Nonye Rajis-Okpara, a former Nigerian envoy to Singapore.

The management disagreements, which included alleged recruitment of top level management staff with questionable academic credentials by the pro-chancellor, were said to have made Prof. Osuagwu quietly walk away.
Sources at the university told Ripples Nigeria that Prof. Osuagwu spirited himself away and only informed Governor Okorocha and the pro-chancellor, of his decision after he had resumed safely at his erstwhile duty post in Yola.

Following Prof. Osuagwu’s move, the university’s director of communication, Lady Cordelia Onu, was also said to have quietly walked away. She too was said to have informed the university management of her decision only after she had reached a safe abode outside Imo state.

Prior to quitting, Prof. Osuagwu was said to have been pitched against Mrs. Rajis-Okpara, over her managerial skills and penchant for full involvement in the day-to-day running of the university.

An inside source disclosed that the ex-envoy, who hailed from Isu area of the state, is said to be closely related to the governor and administers the university like a local government to the exclusion of the Vice Chancellor.

It was gathered that efforts made by Prof. Osuagwu to properly fix the university and get it ready for effective take-off was rebuffed by the pro-chancellor who populated the staff list with persons mostly from political circles, instead of the academia.

According to our source “she sees the university like a local government motor park where every Tom, Dick and Harry from her village who does not have a job must be accommodated even if they have no academic qualification to work in a university environment”.

Though our source acknowledged that Prof. Osuagwu made efforts to put the university on a smooth footing, it was disclosed that the bubble burst for Osuagwu after he stopped an alleged plot by Okorocha, and the pro-chancellor, to have the university recognized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), as a private university.

According to findings, Eastern Palm University was registered at the NUC as the 42nd state-owned university and the 143rd university in Nigeria. However, it was listed by JAMB as a private university.

Governor Okorocha had also been quoted as saying that Eastern Palm is a university built on public-private partnership model. He had allegedly said the university is owned by the Rochas Foundation and Imo state government indicating that while his private foundation owns 90 percent of the university the Imo state government owned 10 percent.

However, Ripples Nigeria learnt that the university came into being by an act of the Imo State House of Assembly through an establishment law cited as Imo State of Nigeria Law No. 13 of 2016.

Our query indicated that Prof. Osuagwu’s protest forced JAMB to re-order its brochure and list it as state-owned.

Irked by the protest, it was gathered that the pro-chancellor marked out Prof. Osuagwu for antagonisms leading to her single-handed employment of Prof. Dafe Otobo, a retiring professor of industrial relations at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), as alternate Vice-Chancellor.

He became Vice Chancellor with Prof. Osuagwu’s exit.

It was also learnt that Prof. Otobo has been appointed a professor of economics and politics at the university though there are less than 15 students so far registered to begin studies there.

According to our source, the students were housed at a dingy hotel on Obohia junction, just in front of the university as the hostel accommodation is yet to be ready.

It was alleged that the decision to house the early birds in the hotel followed failure of the university management to fix some hostel rooms for co-habitation by the students.

The source claimed that those housed in the hotel included male and female students who had registered for lectures even when they are unsure of lecturers, and that the students are beginning to get agitated about the air of uncertainty over their fate.

Findings show that at the moment, Eastern Palm University is without a functional website. Its official website www.epu.edu.ng has been shut down due to what sources say was “huge debt owed the website developer”.

According to our source, the university administration refused to offset debt owed the web developer and instead, attempted to circumvent him and employ another group to manage the site.

“Because of that, he shut down the website and walked away. He alone has the details and even details of the university account on linkedin and Wikipedia. He developed all of them but rather than pay him, the pro-chancellor went and brought another person to develop a different portal for admission and refused to pay him, so he shut down the website and walked away”, our source disclosed.

At the moment, only the admission portal www.epuniportal.com where school fees of the university is advertised as N500,000per annum, is functional.

An update on the facebook page of the university made on February 5, 2018 reads: ‘Hi dear people, especially prospective students, this is the owner of phone number 08162713270 signing off. This is also to formally sign off phone numbers 08033036440 and 09033069657 as numbers to call when you need information on Eastern Palm University. Shortly the authorities of EPU will supply numbers to call henceforth. It was good hearing all your sweet voices. Peace.”

No other contact telephone numbers have been advertised by the university management to enable prospective students get in touch with the school.

Following the update, Ripples Nigeria understands that parents have become more skeptical about the prospects of the university ever taking off despite huge sums sunk into building it.

But our source indicated that though the buildings may be great, the university is actually not ready to take off as there may not be facilities to enable such.

“Is university only about walls and glasses? It goes beyond that my brother and we will know when we are ready to take off. As for now, I doubt we are prepared”, our source hinted.

It is feared that the initial hiccups may force the university to abort its admission plans for now.

Meanwhile, there is no official of the university detailed to talk on the development. It is unclear if any official has been appointed to replace the Director of University Communications.
Source:
https://www.ripplesnigeria.com/management-crisis-rocks-okorochas-eastern-palm-university-vc-quits/

Wawu

Rochas is really running imo state like a kitchen. use state apparatus to develop private concerns. meen this guy is going beyond his linits

Desyner lalasticlala come and see

Nigerian Churches have been running universities even before private universities were licensed to exist and we never hear of this kind of rubbish in maladministration.

These funny ppl can't even decide whether the Uni is Private or Public...They refused to pay their developers and even have a poor organizational hierachy. I have often said we should turn over this country and its finances to the churches we so much bash and you would see real transformation in all sectors.

Hmmmm! Na real wawu. Where is Lalasticlala sef?

missuzoma:

According to findings, Eastern Palm University was registered at the NUC as the 42nd state-owned university and the 143rd university in Nigeria. However, it was listed by JAMB as a private university.

Governor Okorocha had also been quoted as saying that Eastern Palm is a university built on public-private partnership model. He had allegedly said the university is owned by the Rochas Foundation and Imo state government indicating that while his private foundation owns 90 percent of the university the Imo state government owned 10 percent.

The PPP(public private partnership) model is the new way politicians now plant themselves into govt's purse on a long term basis.
We all agree that private sector men are mostly profit oriented(except few with divine or charity mandate), if a university with no special vision then has a PPP model, it must be profit oriented and I see no way such a uni will eventually be strong enough to compete with other private unis that are enjoying subsidies in billions every year.
People think university is secondary school and easy to run.

wow

ROCHAS ......... SCAM!!!

which one be palm university again

Long post summary pls,

IMO state news

OK.The VC deserves a statue

Am tired

Okorocha had also been quoted as saying that Eastern Palm is a university built on public-private partnership model. He had allegedly said the university is owned by the Rochas Foundation and Imo state government indicating that while his private foundation owns 90 percent of the university the Imo state government owned 10 percent.

However, Ripples Nigeria learnt that the university came into being by an act of the Imo State House of Assembly through an establishment law cited as Imo State of Nigeria Law No. 13 of 2016.



Just imagine!

Rochas has so dealt with us, we can no longer talk.. Even Archbishop Obinna that use to talk have kept quiet... Every other big men, the same thing.

Only God will deliver us

ejikemeuwa:
Rochas is really running imo state like a kitchen. use state apparatus to develop private concerns. meen this guy is going beyond his linits

Heheheheheheh

Imo state is cursed sincerely. Even the cursed filthy-looking dwarf called abogwara has since agreed.

Below is the present condition of Imo State university. I spit on Imo state

VC quit? But the University is yet to open for admission. Rochas!!!

Wiseandtrue:

Okorocha and fraudulent activities are like 5$6

When Rochas owns 90% and state own 10% na state university be that?

You used state money to constuct a university

Still use state to register it, now you want to make it a private university

Double standards everywhere, a deputy gov. in Enugu owned just a poultry farm, he was sent parking

what is the penalty for Rochas now

Okoroawusa has destroyed Imo state. Just look at their only state university teaching hospital- IMSU. It has been reduced to a mere poultry farm while useless dirty old poverty inflicted abogwara continues with his propaganda because of stipend he is paid.

Yawns.... Lobbish people. And all this dullards running to all firm of private school. Come on, sit down and read for JAMB and enter a good University.

I wonder why people run to all this mushroom universities springing up daily in Nigeria.

Sapiosexuality:
VC quit? But the University is yet to open for admission. Rochas!!!

but shey dee is imo state uni already....nawa another school wen we need industries so dst dos wey comot go see work...i tire for we country...

Education is not a priority in Nigeria. Education of which ever form.

Everything here is based on assumption. It's true the VC resigned because of differences with Pro-chancelor in employment which many complained about but the rest of the story is sensational journalism to further deceive the already deceived haters of Okorocha.

The University was 1st planned as Rochas Foundation University but after Okorocha emerged Governor he was adviced to use the place instead as the permanent campus of IMSU but after some funds had been invested there was overwhelming resistance against relocation of IMSU which prompted the return to PPP arrangement to complete it as a new University. The structures are excellent but Okorocha should not allow politics in the system.

OGHENAOGIE:
but shey dee is imo state uni already....nawa another school wen we need industries so dst dos wey comot go see work...i tire for we country...

No, this is good. If well managed it will spark the brain that will industrialise the place just like Stanford University to California.

When God wants to stop a project,he put confusion between the workers and the project will fail. Remember the tower of Babel in the Bible.

When I say rochas has stripped imo state dry, people think I'm joking, imo state has been in coma since 2011, imagine he will be leaving office with a university, an airplane fleet not forgetting funds he has looted and kept in south Africa.

sanpipita:
When I say rochas has stripped imo state dry, people think I'm joking, imo state has been in coma since 2011

The cursed useless dirty old man called abogwara is coming for you for saying the bitter truth.

Rochas! Oh I pity your spiral downfall after 2019.

Sapiosexuality:
No, this is good. If well managed it will spark the brain that will industrialise the place just like Stanford University to California.

yy not upgrade the ones we have already....dis days poor pple suffer to get quality education cos our public schools are filled with dilapidated infrastructures.... Today our public primary school system is dead....too many sub standard schools wether private or public... Yet we expect magic in our development

BeijinDossier:



Heheheheheheh

Imo state is cursed sincerely. Even the cursed filthy-looking dwarf called abogwara has since agreed.

Below is the present condition of Imo State university. I spit on Imo state

hey infrastructure development is been put in place.
you didn't snap the new Senate building?
new theatre halls?

down sch renovation?
no go dey use old pic wey you download from the net.

No make me enter sch snap enough for you.

rochas dey fucc up for real tho
but atleast some things are been put in place in imsu presently

Unfortunately no good news ever emanate from IMO, we only hear news like: rubery, kidnap, ritual, indiscriminate erection of statue, broking down of statue, demonstration by citizen, floord, Government demolition of building, deprivation of citizen lifelyhood, untrusted Governor mingling with Northerners, accident, kangaroo commisional portfolio, IPOD, Biafra.....endless list..... and now compromised University......indi IMO o di egwu o!!

I was trained as a marketing professional and researcher under the erudite Professor Linus OSUAGWU of LASU Marketing fame. And I have been following his career from LASU to Covenant to AUN. He is known as a man who does not tolerate mediocrity or the politicization of education. It's a pity Eastern Palm University lost a man of so much value to God knows what!