ESUT Swears In New SUG Executives, VC Urges Student Leaders to Promote Peace, Not Confrontation

The Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), on Thursday, July 16, 2026, officially inaugurated newly elected executives of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), led by Chidera Nwobodo.

Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony which took place at Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah Multi Purpose Auditorium, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, assured the new student leaders of the full support and cooperation of the University Management. 

He urged the executives to discharge their responsibilities with dedication, commitment, integrity, and a strong sense of responsibility adding that the essence of students unionism is to promote peace, effective partnership with the management and not confrontation 

Professor Okolie, who attended the event alongside other principal officers, members of the Governing Council, and key functionaries of the University, described the SUG election as transparent, free, and credible. He said the conduct of the exercise should serve as a model for elections at the federal, state, and local government levels, noting that it demonstrated how credible electoral processes could strengthen democratic governance.

The Vice-Chancellor also reaffirmed the University’s zero-tolerance stance on cultism and fraud, stressing that the rigorous screening process for SUG candidates was designed to identify and disqualify individuals involved in such activities. He warned that any student found engaging in criminal acts would face prosecution, emphasizing that the Students’ Union would only be led by individuals of proven character who would positively represent the institution.

He further announced that the University would soon establish a Faculty of Computing, which would bring the number of faculties in the university to fifteen. The new faculty according to him, would accommodate the five newly approved academic programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC): B.Sc. Intelligence and Security Studies, B.Sc. Cyber Security, B.Sc. Data Science, B.Sc. Software Engineering, and B.Sc. Artificial Intelligence.

In her remarks, the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Ifeoma Okwo, congratulated the newly inaugurated executives and reminded them that leadership is founded on integrity, accountability, sacrifice, and service. She encouraged them to promote responsible student unionism and work towards sustaining peace and progress within the University community.

Professor Okwo commended the immediate past SUG administration led by Faustina Nwodo for its service to the institution, announcing that members of the outgoing executive would receive Certificates of Meritorious Service in recognition of their contributions.

She also expressed concern over the low enrollment of ESUT students in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) scheme and charged the new SUG leadership to intensify awareness campaigns to encourage more students to take advantage of the initiative to alleviate the huge burden on their parents and guardians.

Delivering a lecture titled “Choice, Character, and Consequences: Confronting Cultism and Other Vices on Campus,” the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Enugu State Police Command, SP, Daniel Ndukwe, urged the new student leaders to embrace selfless leadership, become agents of positive change and be intensional in marketing their brand which is their institution.

He warned them against cultism and other social vices capable of destroying their future and tarnishing the reputation of the University.

Similarly, former SUG President, (UNN) and Lecturer in the Department of Psychology ESUT, Dr. Michael Eze, presented the inauguration lecture titled “Student Union Government and Unionism: It’s Role in Promoting Peaceful Campus Environment.” He advised the new executives to remain focused, uphold the principles of student unionism, and resist undue external influence throughout their tenure.

The oath of office was administered by the ESUT Registrar, Ambrose Ugwu, who formally inaugurated the new student leaders.