The Governing Council of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, has appointed Professor Daniel C. Nwachukwu as the 4th Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
The appointment was announced by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Anthony Chibuzo Nebo, on Saturday, December 20, 2025.
Dr. Nebo said Professor Nwachukwu emerged winner after defeating seven other contenders in what he described as a rigorous, transparent and merit-based selection process involving over 40 senior professors.
“Actually, after the screening, they screened eight people. But during the interview yesterday, only seven, one person wasn’t there. My advice to the new Vice Chancellor is, let him keep to what he has said. Together, we shall transform the university.”
Congratulating the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ezeonu urged him to lead inclusively and remain focused on unity and fair decision-making.
“My candid advice to you, don’t listen to gossip. Never you listen to gossip. Say your prayers, carry everybody along, even those who are refusing. Use the eyes of an eagle and solve the problems. Have a lion heart. Don’t hesitate to make inquiries. Don’t take decisions by hearing one side. Always say, I want to hear the other side of the news. Because they might make or mar you.
“Carry along even those that competed with you because it’s very very important for your success. And of course, respect the council. Don’t go into deep dog affair with them. Listen to them. They will not deceive you. We are pushing to make AE-FUNAI a great and the greatest of the university in the South East. And you can see, the foundations have been laid by your predecessors, those who came before you. So you have to build on it. Don’t castigate,” he said.
In his acceptance speech, Professor Nwachukwu, a Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, pledged to reposition AE-FUNAI and improve its visibility.
“Previously I was working with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I’ve worked there for 26 years. I’ve held various positions. The last one was the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. I was the immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor. So I want to thank God. He has this reason for bringing me here. And I want to assure both staff and students of A.E-FUNAI that this is a new beginning.
“So we are going to work together to make the place a great place. My primary focus, first and foremost, you can see the place needs infrastructure. It needs visibility. The student population is very small. And you can’t have students when you don’t have infrastructure. And we need to also discuss and dialogue with the host communities towards making sure that we do the needful for them.”
The new Vice-Chancellor further stressed the need to clearly define the university’s identity and strengthen its financial base.
“A university should be a university, not a university and village put together in a single place. I wasn’t pleased when I saw that it’s a problem. We are going to solve that problem. And also, the university needs money to run. And we are going to diversify our IGR, have several streams of generating money to run the place.
“That’s our priority. And we’re also going to partner with the private sector to bring them to assist us to build infrastructure that we desperately need in AE-FUNAI. Thank you so much for all that,” he stated.
