ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association (UPHAA) has lauded the appointment of Prof. Owunari Abraham Georgewill as the substantive 9th Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.
It described Georgewill’s appointment as a well-earned reward for hard work, consistency, dedication to duty with a track record of outstanding brilliance.
In a statement on Tuesday, its National Publicity Secretary, Ono Akpe, noted that the organisation was delighted with Prof. Georgewill’s appointment, adding that he is an erudite scholar, an academic colossus, an achiever par excellence and a worthy alumnus of the university.
Akpe stated that the country’s education sector is undoubtedly facing many challenges, such as inadequate funding and facilities, and stressed that Georgewill’s appointment is a call to serve and help transform education, not only at the university but in the country by extension.
While insisting that Georgewill’s appointment would have a profound impact on the university, Akpe said that the alumni had implicit confidence in his ability to perform, especially since he is an alumnus of the university.
Listing out his educational qualifications, Akpe pointed out that he had passed through the right training and grown through the ranks, which had adequately equipped him for his current position.
Prof. Georgewill was born on May 15, 1965 in Abonnema in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. He attended Bishop Crowther Memorial School, Abonnema, between 1970 and 1976 and obtained a credit pass in the First School Leaving Certificate Examination. He then proceeded to the Nyemoni Grammar School, also in Abonnema, where he obtained his G.C.E ‘O’ Level certificate in 1981, in flying colours.
His quest for higher education took him to the University of Port Harcourt to study Medicine. In 1987, he graduated with Second Class Honours Upper Division, B. Med. Sc., degree in Pharmacology. His diligence and hard working nature earned him the nickname “Prof” as early as his second year of undergraduate study.
In 1990, he obtained the MBBS degree of the University of Port Harcourt. He did his housemanship at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, before proceeding to Edo State for his one year National Youth Service Corps scheme, as Medical Officer at the Specialist Hospital, Ossiomo.
In 1993, he commenced residency training in the Department of Internal Medicine, UPTH. In 1994 , he was employed as a Lecturer II in Pharmacology and was eventually promoted to the rank of a Professor of Pharmacology on May 4, 2010, at the age of 44.