Anambra State Governor Prof. Charles Soludo has inaugurated the eighth Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, charging its members to restore academic integrity and drive institutional transformation at the state owned university.

The inauguration took place at the Light House in Awka, where Soludo acknowledged that the council was assuming office at a critical moment in the university's history, citing governance lapses and concerns over the integrity of recent academic recruitment processes that he said required urgent attention.

He described the preceding council as having remained dormant for reasons he found inexplicable and expressed confidence that the new leadership would reverse that trajectory.

"You have a lot of heavy lifting to do. I am confident that with the new leadership of the Council, you will provide nothing short of excellence. Work with the greatest level of integrity, conscientiousness, and passion. Consider what is best for the university and the generations unborn; we are all birds of passage. What is important is, while you serve, what has changed for the better? That is your guiding principle," he stated.

Soludo expressed particular confidence in the council's chairman and Pro Chancellor, Prof. Peter A. Onwualu, describing his appointment as central to the institution's recovery. "With Prof. Peter Onwualu as your Chairman and Pro Chancellor, your problems are solved. Just get going. Take the university to realise its manifest potential. With the calibre of men and women of such knowledge, expertise, and 'fire in the belly,' you will succeed," he added.

Responding on behalf of council members, Onwualu pledged to make COOU one of the top three state universities in Nigeria. "This will be a different Council. We intend to make COOU one of the top three state universities in the country. The problem of weak institutions is a Nigerian problem, but we will make COOU a very strong university. We covet the Governor's support to make this happen," he said.

The council is chaired by Prof. Onwualu as Pro Chancellor and includes external members Igwe Dr Chris Oranu Chidume, Prof. O. J. Ogbuagu, Chief Christopher Ndubuisi and retired AIG Chris Ezike. Internal members include Vice Chancellor Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha and Deputy Vice Chancellors Prof. A. C. Nweke, Prof. Obiora Ejiofor and Prof. Sylvia Okonkwo. Senate representatives on the council are Prof. Matthias O. Ananti, Prof. Ogonna Ifebi, Prof. Nkeiruka Orji, Prof. MaryJude Igbodika and Dr Chukwunonso Ekesiobi.