Ex-commissioner Appointed Vice Chancellor of First Generation University

Ex-commissioner Appointed Vice Chancellor of First Generation University 

    PROFESSOR SIMON ORTUANYA

 Professor Simon Ortuanya, a renowned academic and former Enugu State Commissioner for Education, has been appointed as the 16th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

The appointment was officially announced in a statement released on Sunday night by the university’s spokesperson, Agha Inya. According to the statement, the decision was ratified by the Governing Council of the institution after a transparent and merit-driven selection process chaired by Engr. Kayode Ojo, the Council Chairman.

“The university community congratulates Professor Ortuanya on his appointment and looks forward to a new era of academic excellence and transformational leadership,” Mr. Inya said.

Professor Ortuanya, a distinguished professor of law at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, brings with him a wealth of experience in both academia and public service. He served as Enugu State’s Commissioner for Education from 2007 to 2015 under Governor Sullivan Chime. In 2017, he was appointed Director General of the South-east Governors Forum, and by 2019, he became Secretary to the State Government (SSG) under the administration of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

A native of Ohodo in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, Professor Ortuanya’s appointment marks a historic milestone, as he becomes the first indigene of the Nsukka cultural zone to occupy the university’s top position since its establishment in the 1950s. Although Igbo-Etiti is administratively distinct from Nsukka LGA, it is culturally regarded as part of the greater Nsukka zone.

His emergence has been widely celebrated, especially among local stakeholders who had long advocated for an indigene of the host community to lead the prestigious institution.

Professor Ortuanya is expected to assume office with a mandate to further the university's tradition of excellence and steer it toward new frontiers of growth and innovation.