By John Owen Nwachukwu
Final year students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, MOUA Umudike, Abia State; have called on the Federal Government to intervene in the alleged power play between the university’s Pro-chancellor, Fidelis Edeh and the Vice Chancellor, Professor Maduebibisi Iwe, which has stalled their convocation ceremony.
This is as the fate of the fresh graduates now hangs in the balance following the alleged fight between the two University heavyweights, which has led to the delay in approval of the budget for the Convocation Ceremony.
DAILY POST gathered that preparations had reached an advanced stage for the ceremony scheduled for last Friday, December 12, 2025, as all the statutory organs had given the go-ahead for the event, only for the in-fighting to stall the process.
Recall that on the 10th of December, the university announced the postponement of the 13th Convocation ceremony, which was earlier approved to hold from December 10 to 13 at the university’s campus in Umudike, Abia State.
In the statement signed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Iwe, the University apologised to the Chancellor and Chairman of Convocation, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Abubakar IV, regretting the inconveniences the postponement must have caused him and the graduands of the institution.
Iwe, who is also the Chairman of the university’s senate also used the opportunity to apologise to the Convocation Lecturer, Dr Simeon Ehui, the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, “for the disruptions, which the postponement must have caused him.”
The university assured that a new date for the 13th Convocation Ceremony will be announced later.
One of the distraught graduands lamented the interruption, regretting that he and his parents had incurred much cost preparing for the ceremony only to be informed at the eleventh-hour of a postponement.
“It is not fair or proper. We know that it is all politics,” he said.
“Why should innocent students be made to suffer from this needless power play? Some of us have planned to travel outside the country for our masters. We pray that President Tinubu should intervene through the Minister of Agriculture and save our souls,” the graduating student stated.
When asked why he had allegedly sworn that the convocation would not hold under the current Vice Chancellor, Mr Steve, the personal adviser to Comrade Edeh, who spoke through the Pro-Chancellor’s phone, told DAILY POST, “Those who told you that the convocation did not hold should also tell you why it did not hold. They should be able to give you the reason.”
