PROTOCOL
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to address you today at this inaugural meeting with all staff as the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of our great University. My emergence as the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of this University is clearly by the special grace of God and to Him be all the glory.
May I profoundly appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for his confirmation and consent to the flawless decision of the Distinguished Governing Council of this University during the selection process. My administration will remain loyal to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
I also appreciate the Chancellor of our University, His Royal Majesty Oba Dr. Michael Aremu Adedotun Gbadebo, CFR, Okukenu IV, The Alake & Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, for his sustained interest in our University. I profoundly appreciate the distinguished Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council and all the distinguished members of the Governing Council for the appointment.
May I also appreciate all the Professors and the entire staff for their cooperation that has led to all the gains made by the past administrations.
This University was established on 26th February, 2011 and we started academic activities on 5th November, 2012 with three Faculties, 10 Departments and 41 programmes.

Presently, we have 11 Faculties, 41 Departments and 57 programmes. We started with a student population of 293 students in 2012 and presently, we have a student population of about 9500.
We started with staff strength of 200 made up of 137 academic, 36 senior non-teaching and 27 junior staff. Presently, we have staff strength of 2230 made up of 755 academic, 865 senior non-teaching and 610 junior staff.

Over the past ten years, our University has witnessed rapid infrastructural and academic developments and transformations.
May I pay special tribute to my Predecessors, for their contributions.
Firstly, to late Prof. Oye Ibidapo Obe, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of this University who pioneered the establishment of the University and laid the foundation for academic excellence and aggressive manpower training.
Secondly, to Prof Chinedum Uzoma Nwajiuba, the 2nd and immediate past Vice-Chancellor of this University whose tenure witnessed numerous landmark achievements and transformations.
The main focus of my administration is to sustain, consolidate and expand the achievements made by my predecessors.

I do not intend to bore you with the details of my agenda which I have shared with the Senate but I just want to highlight some of the aspects that will interest you most.

1. To improve the image and ranking of the University.
All hands will be on deck to improve the University’s global ranking and positive image as follows:
a. The University will deliberately work to maintain the culture of an uninterrupted academic calendar with regular Convocation Ceremonies and yearly mobilization of graduating students for NYSC Programme as already established. This will entail the sustenance of best practices in teaching, grading of examination scripts and timely release of results.
b. All academic staff will be encouraged to upload their publications to the University website, google scholar and research gate platforms to increase our global visibility and ranking.
c. The diaspora staff exchange programme of the Centre for Internationalization and Advancement will be strengthened to encourage more diaspora academics spend time in our University and collaborate with our staff on research and publications.

d. The requirements in the academic staff promotion guidelines for high quality research publications will be sustained. Additional incentives for staff who publish such papers will be created and funded.

e. The Language Enhancement Programme (LEP) vision of our outgoing Vice-Chancellor will be sustained and supported to ensure that we produce high quality graduates who will not only be proficient in communicating in English Language but would have a second language namely French or German.

f. The culture of public and inaugural lectures already established by the outgoing Vice-Chancellor will be sustained and supported.

g. The culture of seriousness in all academic and administrative activities of the University already established by the outgoing Vice-Chancellor will be sustained and strengthened.

The practical steps include:
Staff being regular and punctual to work
Lecturers attending to their classes regularly and punctually
Students returning to campus as soon as school reopens after holidays due to the inception quiz policy.
Ban on sale of hand outs and textbooks not approved by the University Publication Committee.
Ban on sorting and all other forms of exam misconduct
Ban on indecent dressing and sexual harassment.
2. Infrastructure: Despite the enormous work done by the out-going administration, a lot still needs to be done in the area of physical infrastructure as follows.

a. Serious efforts will be made to complete all the on-going Projects in the University and to construct more staff offices, more classrooms, more lecture auditoria, large examination halls, more functional laboratories and more staff housing units.

b. Efforts will be made to open up more roads within the Campus.
c. Private hostel developers will be encouraged to build more hostels for the students on private partnership agreement. A situation where most of the students live off Campus is not good for our global ranking.

d. All efforts will be made to sustain the existing steady power supply from the solar hybrid power plant provided by the Federal Government.

e. The problem of regular water supply will be given serious attention. Efforts will be made to acquire and install Braithwaite pressed steel water tanks at strategic locations in the Campus.

3. Internally Generated Revenue, (IGR) of the University:
There is urgent need to develop a resource base for the University as follows:

a. The academic departments of AE-FUNAI would be supported to engage students in research projects that have direct consequence in solving specific societal problems and the results of such projects would be transmitted to the relevant industries for production of goods and services.
b. The University Agric. Farm will be expanded and run professionally, focussing on Agro businesses such as fish farming, poultry, piggery and rice production.
c. The AE-FUNAI Outlook Limited will be strengthened and reorganized to handle consultancy services within and outside the State in addition to it’s existing businesses of:
– block industry, paint factory, bookshop, restaurant and printing press.
d. The newly established AE-FUNAI Microfinance Bank will be nurtured and supported by encouraging most University Businesses to be handled by the Microfinance Bank.
e. Efforts will be made to create reserve areas within the University land for aggressive planting of about one hundred thousand fast-growing timbre trees by 2022. These trees will yield billions of naira in about 20 years.
f. The Centre for Educational Services (CES) of the University will be strengthened and expanded to increase the intake of JUPEB and Pre-degree students for higher IGR. Efforts will be made to develop the Permanent Site of the Centre at the land already acquired for the purpose in Abakaliki.
g. The centre for entrepreneurship and employability will be strengthened and expanded by establishing a vocational skills workshop to encourage our students to acquire at least one skill before graduation.
4. ICT Unit: The ICT unit will be strengthened and supported to ensure regular and reliable internet services. Highly qualified IT experts will be recruited and necessary IT infrastructure will be provided to ensure that the ICT Unit hosts and manages most of the online services of the University such as admissions, fee payment, course registration, hostel allocation, examinations, results processing, transcript processing, online learning etc.

5. Staff Welfare: Staff welfare will be a priority under my leadership if we must achieve the goals of the university because a poorly motivated staff cannot give his or her best to the system. By my experience in the University System over the years I am aware that staff motivation enhances productivity.
To improve staff motivation efforts will be made to enhance your welfare as follows:
a. Efforts will be made to ensure conducive working environment for all staff to enable each person to contribute positively.
b. Staff appraisal and promotion will continue to be transparently and timely carried out to ensure release of results before 1st October each year.
c. A deliberate attempt will be made to incentivize hard work and discourage indifference to work.
d. More staff housing units will be built for more staff to reside in the campus.
e. Staff training will continue to be a priority of this university
f. Staff development through conferences, seminars and workshops, local and international will be given serious attention.
g. Efforts will be made to provide more sporting and recreational facilities.
h. Efforts will be made to ensure adequate security of lives and properties within the campus.

CONCLUSION
Dear Colleagues, may I remind us that a University is not the property of any one individual or group of individuals. We are working not only for the benefit of our students and scholars who are here today, but in effect, we are all trustees, nurturing the University on behalf of new generations that will be producing ideas and tackling problems that we cannot even begin to imagine now.

I am mindful of the fact that no single individual can determine the success of a University. Therefore, I will rely heavily on our collective wisdom and actions to make Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike a World-Class University.

Finally, Dear Colleagues may I end with my guiding principle which is in Col 3: 23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men”. If we imbibe this word of God it will help us to avoid eye-service, sycophancy, gossip and slander in this University. The immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chinedum Uzoma Nwajiuba, has raised the flag, we shall keep the flag flying. By the grace of God we will ensure that his noble dreams of making Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike a World-Class University where the ideals and culture of a University would be strictly adhered to would not die.

May God bless our University and bless all of us in Jesus Name, Amen.

Prof. Sunday Oge Elom
Vice-Chancellor