The Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University (RSU), Prof Blessing Chimezie Didia has commended the efforts and contributions made by the staff and students of the university towards the success and achievements recorded by his administration within the past three years.
Didia stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt last Thursday, to felicitate with staff and students of the institution on the celebrations of this years’ Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The Vice Chancellor acknowledged the commitment put in by the various stakeholders in the institution towards the advancement of the university in the out-going years and urged them to continue in such resilience and commitment in order to enable his administration achieve what he called “enhanced service delivery” in 2019.
He disclosed that the completion of many faculty buildings, support to research works and accreditations of more programmes by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) were some of the landmark achievements recorded in 2018 by his management team.
On behalf of the institution, she used the opportunity to express their profound gratitude to the Governor of the state, Chief Nyesom Wike for his sustained support to the university for the past three years and assured that the university would continue to work to be among the top leading universities in Nigeria and indeed the world at large.
Meanwhile a 400,000 capacity water tank built at the newly commissioned NDDC female hostel at the Rivers State University has collapsed.
The incident, which occurred last Monday at about 1pm, recorded no casualty, although the impact of the tragic event was visibly felt in the university campus.
Speaking to The Tide on condition of anonymity, a non-academic staff of the university, who narrated the incident to The Tide correspondent at the scene blamed the collapse on inferior material used by the contractors to construct the water tank.
He told our correspondent that the tank collapsed when the university engineers were attempting to connect water to the second floor of the female hostel from the water tank adding that the pressure mounted on the water tank led to its collapse.
He disclosed that the female students who occupied the second floor of the building had complained to the university management of non access of running water to the second floor of the building which according to him, prompted the management, move to connect the second floor with water from the water tank before the tank collapsed on that fateful day.
He expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost to the incident but advised that certified engineers and professionals be contracted while constructing such job in future.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach the public relations department of the institution proved abortive.