The University of Calabar (Unical) Alumni Association, Abuja chapter, said it is set to award the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu and Senator Uche Ekwunife for their outstanding service to humanity.
The association has also selected 24 other awardees, including ranking police officers, senior civil servants and other distinguished personalities for the awards, scheduled to hold in Abuja this Thursday, December 14, 2023.
The chairperson, End-of-Year (2023) Awards/Dinner Planning Committee of the association, Dr Chioma Uzo-Udegbunam, who disclosed this at a pre-event press briefing in Abuja on Monday, said the awardees are in three categories; the Malabites and the Malabresses, who are graduates of the university, as well as friends of the university.
Uzo-Udegbunam explained that the awardees were selected because they have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure that the University of Calabar (Unical), Alumni Association, Abuja chapter continues to exist, despite all odds.
According to her, “There have been so many people that finished from the University of Calabar, and they have done a lot of things for the university, especially for the alumni association, Abuja chapter.
They have worked tirelessly well to ensure that the alumni association of the university, Abuja chapter continues to exist. These people, despite the tight economy still went of their ways to ensure that we remained as one family.”
Uzo-Udegbunam, who is the head of administration (audit department), Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), noted that about 200m dollars is needed to fix the decaying infrastructure at the University of Calabar, adding that the alumni associations must come in to salvage the situation.
She maintained that the Abuja chapter of the association should take the lead, find out the problems of the university and see how it can assist the university.
The chairperson of the planning committee also called on other alumni associations of other universities in the country to look inward, find out the challenges their institutions are facing, and to see how they can assist their alma mater.
She continued, “This awards/dinner ceremony is not the first, but it is going to be the most meaningful, because it is based on people that have been giving back to the university and contributing to the progress of the alumni association of the university, Abuja chapter.
That was why we chose the theme; Rethinking Alumni Engagement and Strategies: The Pros and Cons. We want people to know that when you graduates from an university or an institution, there is also the need for you to give back to the institution that has made you who you are.”
Also speaking, the vice chairman, Unical Alumni Association, Abuja chapter, Barr (Mrs) Bassey Emmanuel Ntuk, said this year’s awards/dinner ceremony is significant because, apart from coming together to interact with old students of the university, the ceremony is also an opportunity for Malabites and Malabresses to garner ideas on how to assist the school in one way or the other.