Prof. Fidelis Okafor, Vice Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, has said that the institution is rapidly expanding as one of the major Centres for teaching and research in all disciplines.

Okafor made this known when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Igbariam campus of the institution on Monday.

According to him, the university has shown itself as a Centre of Excellence by laurels won in recent international, national and state competitions in various fields.

“It has been ranked second to University of Benin by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board as the institution that strictly comply with the Board’s guidelines in admission.

“In addition, we have been ranked as the 67th best university out of the 140 Federal, State and Private Universities in the country,” he said.

Okafor said that the university had turned out it second batch of medical doctors trained at the University’s College of Medicine, Awka.

He said the formal induction by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria of the last batch of doctors was performed in October, 2016, while part of the second set was done on Feb. 3.

“This university has, thus, become the 29th university approved for the training of medical doctors,” Okafor said.

He noted that the university had continued to maintain its stand against cultism and other vices, disclosing that three suspected cultists recently renounced their membership.

Okafor said the law of the Federal Government had proscribed cultism, stressing that membership of any cult group remained an offence punishable by law.

“We have sounded warnings to the recently admitted students that any cult member caught in the school will not only be expelled,bbut handed over to the police for prosecution.

“Already, a powerful and dynamic security network exists in the university to monitor and apprehend cult members; woe unto the student that will be discovered to be a cultist in this university,” he said.

While commending Gov. Willie Obiano for committing huge funds for capital projects, Okafor appealed for increase in funding to enable the institution tackle its other numerous challenges. (NAN)