By Chinedu Adonu

ENUGU-FORMER governor of Enugu state and National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo has lauded the governor of Enugu state, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his policies, staff welfare and infrastructural development in the state, saying he is the best governor in the country.

Dr Nwodo said he gave his objective judgement based on the visible development and progressive improvement in the state since the governor’s assumption of office in 2015.

“Ugwuanyi’s achievement is visibly clear to everybody. We can all see it and I think he is one of the best governors we have in the country if you want to be honest with yourself. At a time when other states are in recession and borrowing money from the federal government purse, his state and a few others like Lagos, Rivers have been steadfast in paying worker’s salaries when due.

“If you look at the infrastructural development in the state, you will see that he has put in place critical infrastructure that will help in developing the state and putting it on a world map. He is a wonderful governor and I think the best in the country”, he said.

Nwodo

Dr Nwodo disclosed this during the first distinguished lecture organized by the Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The guest lecturer and renowned historian Professor Toyin Falola of the University of Texas in the United States of America who delivered a lecture titled “Contemporary challenges of higher education in Nigeria”, said the nation’s educational system needs reforms to develop and has not been fully harnessed to meet international standards.

“According to UNESCO, we are lagging behind other countries in literacy and learning. It is disturbing that a nation with natural resources like ours to be in this condition. We need to do more to improve our standards in order to meet international competitiveness. We need to have improved libraries, laboratories, facilities for learning, regulation of school fees and decentralization of salaries”, he said.

He further decried the unemployment rate in the country which he placed at over 40% and called for a reward system for lecturers and professors in terms of productivity in order to motivate them.

Earlier in a remark, the Vice Chancellor of the institution who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Professor Smart Uchegbu, applauded the faculty for initiating the lecture series aimed at maintaining the position of the institution as the best in the country as recently released by Webometrics in 2016.

The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Professor Christian Onyenji, said the purpose of the lecture was aimed at drawing from wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise of distinguished Nigerians, and non-Nigerians in various fields to educate, motivate and inspire the public and staff of the faculty to greater achievements in life.