The Federal Ministry of Education has reinstated Professor Joseph Ikechebelu as the acting vice-chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK).

The announcement was made in a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo.

The decision follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nullification of the appointment of Professor Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh as the university’s seventh substantive vice-chancellor. Odoh’s appointment was deemed illegal by the dissolved 10th Governing Council of the university.

The letter from Sani-Gwarzo read:

“Sequel to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR vide letter Ref: PRES/84/EDU/10 dated 18th November, 2024 nullifying the appointment of Prof. Benard Ifeanyi Odoh as the 7th substantive vice chancellor of the university who was illegally appointed by the dissolved 10th Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, I am pleased to convey the approval of the Honourable Minister to reinstate you as the acting vice chancellor of the university with immediate effect. Consequently, you are directed to take charge of the administration of the university.”

The permanent secretary also instructed Ikechebelu to direct matters requiring council approval to the Ministry of Education until a new governing council is constituted by President Tinubu.

This development comes after President Tinubu’s directive on Wednesday, November 20, to dissolve the UNIZIK Governing Council, leading to the termination of Bernard Odoh’s controversial tenure as vice-chancellor.

Ikechebelu was initially appointed as acting vice-chancellor in June 2024 but was removed by the now-dissolved Governing Council in late July. His reinstatement marks a return to leadership amid ongoing administrative changes at the institution.

In addition to Ikechebelu’s reappointment, the Federal Government reinstated Victor Modebelu as the Acting Registrar of UNIZIK. Modebelu, who had previously served in the role, replaces Rosemary Nwokike, whose tenure as substantive registrar was also terminated by the President.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has officially delisted companies that failed to file their annual returns for the past 10 years from its register.

The commission had earlier announced, on July 25, plans to remove dormant companies from its database, granting a 90-day grace period for non-compliant entities to take corrective action.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the CAC confirmed it has struck off the names of companies that did not update their records despite the notice.

“The general public may recall that the commission issued a notice of intention to strike off names of companies that are believed to be dormant or not conducting business due to their failure to file annual returns for 10 years,” the CAC stated.

The commission emphasized that companies were given a statutory 90-day period to comply by submitting the necessary annual returns and sending an activation email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Those who adhered to the advisory have been retained on the register, while defaulters were delisted.

Acting under its powers granted by Section 692(4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 3 of 2020, the CAC published the list of dissolved companies on its website (www.cac.gov.ng).

According to The Cable, the delisted companies are considered dissolved as of the date of publication, and the CAC warned that any transaction or deal with such entities is illegal.

Some of the delisted companies include:

Jolly Food Ind. Ltd

Dantama Biscuits Factory Ltd

Honeycrown Manufacturing Company Limited

Havila Gold Nigeria Limited

Print Express Limited

Hydeson and Avilson Nig Ltd

Innoson “Vinod” International Limited

Apapa Sea Stores Limited

Citigate Limited

Mutbish Guards Security Company Limited

Safol Integrated Ventures Limited

Eko Foods Limited

Myers Klein & Goldsmith Ltd

De-Luxe Colour Productions Limited

Marina Investment Limited

Dunlop Nigeria Industries Sales Limited

Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha Limited

Other affected companies can be found here.

The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has flagged over 10,000 fraudulent foreign student acceptance letters this year. These numbers mark a notable 30% rise in fraudulent foreign student acceptance letters compared to the previous year.

These letters, submitted as part of study permit applications, have come under rigorous scrutiny following enhanced checks by Canadian immigration authorities, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

Bronwyn May, the Director-General of the IRCC’s International Students Branch, noted that the verification process has revealed extensive misuse of fraudulent documents.

“Since we began verifying acceptance letters from colleges and universities over the past year, we have intercepted more than 10,000 potentially fraudulent letters,” May said in a statement to the House of Commons immigration committee last week.

Recent investigations have revealed an alarming rise in fraudulent foreign student acceptance letters, prompting action from Canadian authorities. Over the past 10 months, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) checked 500,000 acceptance letters, confirming that 93 per cent were genuine.

However, 2 per cent of these letters were found to be entirely fake, and 1 per cent of applicants had their placements at Canadian institutions cancelled.

Several factors contribute to this increase in fraudulent documents. Firstly, IRCC has intensified its scrutiny of applications, making it more challenging for fraudulent documents to go unnoticed. Secondly, Canada’s growing popularity as a leading study destination has led to a surge in international student applications, creating more opportunities for scammers.