Education
Asagba Praises Egwunyenga, Renames Faculty After Him, As He Takes Over As DELSU VC
By Daniel Dafe
Vice-Chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Prof. Samuel Asagba has formally received handover notes from his predecessor, Prof. Andy Egwunyenga.
In a brief ceremony held today at the University’s Abraka campus, Asagba, whose tenure officially begins tomorrow, December 1, commended the outgoing Vice-Chancellor for addressing pertinent issues in DELSU in the last five years, including infrastructure overhaul, just as he named the expansive Faculty of Management Sciences complex built by the Egwunyenga administration after the outgoing Vice-Chancellor.
He said: “Professor Egwunyenga is somebody I have known for so many years. We belong to the same faculty that is the Faculty of Science. I want to commend him for a job well done. He has been a fighter for this university for many years. As an activist, I can recall some years ago that he came to my office to canvass for my vote over one of the ASUU elections and since then, I have always been his follower, working underground for the course of the university. He can bear witness to this. I look at his emergence as the Vice Chancellor as a reward of the services he has given to this university, fighting for the oppressed.
“As the Vice Chancellor, he has had tremendous impact in this university. We know where we are coming from and we know where we are. He has touched so many lives and has done so much. We have seen our population grow from 19,000 to over 33,000 thereby increasing the revenue base. If you came into the campus some years ago, it was not a beautiful sight cause we had forests everywhere. But today, you can see the aesthetic value that he has brought here in our environment which is not surprising because as a biologist because I can also consider myself as a biologist, we are always cautious about our environment. We can see that he has addressed a lot of matters that aee affecting the university and also established some infrastructure. Each time I go through campus III, in front of the convocation building, I always behold the beauty of the Faculty of Management Complex.
“We want to thank him sincerely for all his services to Delta State University. I know he said he is retiring, but he is not tired. He is still looking strong, handsome and ever smiling. I want to use this opportunity to wish him all the best in his retirement and to let him know that retirement does not mean goodbye cause I know that we will always see him often and we will continue to have memories of him especially those that he has touched their lives.”
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The new Vice-Chancellor also solicited the support of the university community to enable him pursue his vision for the state-owned university.
Meanwhile, speaking earlier, Professor Egwunyenga described the handover as a very historic day for the institution.
He added: “Today we mark the hand over from the 7th Vice Chancellor to the 8th Vice Chancellor of DELSU. I think it is a sign of maturity considering the very peaceful transition that we have witnessed; organs of the university conducting themselves with a lot of respect and professionalism.
“We have come to the end. Today, I will formally hand over to the baton to Professor Samuel Asagba.”
He continued: “Professor Samuel Asagba has served this university in various capacities. He has gone through the mill. He was the Head of Department, Dean, Provost, and he was also a Deputy Vice Chancellor under my leadership for at least two months. So, he is very familiar with the university. So, I have the pleasure and the confidence that the university will go to the next level under his leadership.”
Present during the occasion were Members of Council, the university’s Principal Officers, Heads of tertiary institutions and friends and well-wishers of the outgoing and incoming VC.