Precisely in august 2019, I had an exclusive but no holds barred interview with the then Vice Chancellor of the Abia State University Uturu , the interview lasted for about one hour and at the end of the interview, a rare gem in the academia and a first class technocrat was exposed in the person of Prof. Uchenna Eleazar Ikonne.
In the course of the interview Prof. Uche Ikonne with statistical facts narrated how he met Abia state University at a very low rating, ABSU was placed at the 93rd position out of about 160 tertiary institutions in the country as at then, but the highly experienced and erudite professor of Optometry deployed his administrative ingenuity to bring the schools rating to an enviable 27th position in the university rating.
Under his watch as the Vice Chancellor of the premier institution Prof. Ikonne who was nicknamed senior Course Rep in the university community because of his direct and personal supervision of the activities of students in the university in and out of the class room, he introduced discipline, transparency and instilled global best practices in the university community.
Prof. Ikonne built most of the infrastructure being enjoyed in the university today using TETFUND and internally generated revenue, he also prioritized both students and staff welfare.
He also introduced the remarkable transformation and improvement in the various sectors critical to the development of the university that raised the institution as the second best performing University nationwide.
Prof. Ikonne is competent, innovative, experienced and possesses the capacity and the energy to move the state to a greater destination if given the chance, he understands the complexities of leadership and has the needed experiences and tact that will facilitate economic prosperity for the State, his administration will promote transparency and participatory governance and will also ensure sustainable development across all sectors but most importantly Prof. Ikonne’s developmental roadmap will enhance economic development, security, human capital/ social development, infrastructural development.
Prof. Uchenna Eleazar Ikonne, is an embodiment of Intellectual Agility, Smartness, Integrity, Boldness, Flexible to ideas, Great Motivator, Change Embracer, Visionary, Strong Communicator and most importantly he is Accessible.
