FUTO VC Prof. Oti Hails Engr. Dr. Okezie Akwiwu For Donating Administrative Building To Institution

By Chinedu Max Egere

A renowned Engineer and stake holder in the oil and gas sector, Engr. Dr. Okezie Akwiwu has continued to receive many more encomiums for his donation of an edifice which would serve as the administrative building of the Institute of Erosion Studies of Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

The building was officially commissioned on Wednesday by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Nnenna Oti amidst many guests.

Earlier before the official commissioning of the administrative building, Engr. Dr. Okezie Akwiwu, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) had recalled that during the 34th and 35th combined convocation ceremony which took place on Saturday, December 2, 2023, he was honoured with the award of degree of Doctor of Technology (D.Tech) Honoris Causa by the great University, FUTO, which he said he gladly accepted the honour in the knowledge that FUTO has over the years earned a reputation for producing some of the best engineers in Nigeria oil and gas industry where he operates.

It was in line with the Corporate Social Responsibility Programme(CSR) of Engr. Dr Okezie Akwiwu’s group of companies that led to his promise during the combined convocation ceremony of FUTO to erect a befitting structure for the Institute of Erosion Studies through the robust facilitation of a man of valour, Prof Frank Ojiako, who is the Director of the Institute.

Engr.Okezie Akwiwu said that while FUTO engineers are highly sought after, his Hy Group has five of them in its employ and that their group companies, Hyprops Nigeria ltd and ENG Rypac Ltd have operated in the oil and gas industry for nearly 30 years providing services such as fabric maintenance operations, Insulation fabrication and installation services, Marine Maintenance services, Subsea life fields services, Machining and Maintenance services, Pipeline Installation and Maintenance and many others.

Engr. Dr. Okezie Akwiwu.

Engr. Dr. Akwiwu declared saying ‘Human capacity development has been the centre point of our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme and over the past 15 years,we have recruited over 150 unskilled personnel , trained them in the different areas and deploying them to our various projects offshore and onshore with our clients such as NNPC Exploration and Production Ltd; Nigeria LNG Ltd and Chevron Ltd. As at today, we know that 85 of such individuals are currently engaged in our various projects’

On the building which he donated to FUTO, Engr.Dr. Okezie Akwiwu further highlighted thus saying ‘We conceptualized the building to have twelve offices excluding the Prof. Nnenna Oti lecture hall, Library, Laboratory Conference room and a court yard and in addition to the private toilets in the offices, there are also three toilets for general use.The building has a total built up area of 545 sqm fenced into 3,780 sqm of land. To preserve the building long term, we have tiled all the walls in the common areas to eliminate the need for regular painting.’

The Ogwuaga -Abba born Engineer was full of appreciation to the leadership of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri(FUTO) ably steered by Prof. Oti, the Vice Chancellor, for their commitment to excellence and finding him worthy of the Doctor of Technology (D.Tech) Honoris Causa.

He also commended Prof. Frank Ojiako, the Director of Institute of Erosion Studies, FUTO for facilitating the project and all others who in one way or another contributed to the success of the project.

He advised students to help protect the infrastructure aware of its value to the Institution.

During his interactions with the media over the project, Prof. Frank Ojiako who made the vote of thanks at the commissioning ceremony expressed his gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oti and those who played roles to the success of the project and commended Engr. Dr Akwiwu for his endless philanthropic gestures.

Prof. Ojiako disclosed that the donor, Engr. Dr Okezie Akwiwu has silently made several philanthropic services to individuals and groups.

The Director of the Institute said that governmental support to Institutions cannot be enough stressing the importance of having such legacies on ground with his piece of advice that the rich and wealthy should not distance themselves from enshrining their names in Institutions with such donations and endowments so as to immortalize their names even after death.

While he deems it important to attract friends and philanthropists to the University for such gestures,he rules out cases of the facilitators cashing in on such opportunities to embezzle or mismanage funds meant for such purposes or to interfere with the contracts or works on the projects and as such , according to him, would not give room to transparency and accountability but would rather compromise with the work standards.

In her speech during the official commissioning ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Nnenna Oti said the gesture made by Engr. Dr. Okezie Akwiwu marked yet another significant milestone in the growth and development of FUTO as the edifice donated by Engr. Akwiwu stands not only as a physical structure but as a symbol of vision, generosity and shared commitment to advancing and addressing critical environmental challenges facing our society.

Prof. Oti maintained that Erosion remains one of the most pressing ecological issues in our region and across the Nation, adding that its devastating impact on communities, infrastructure, agriculture and livelihoods calls for sustained research, innovation and practical solutions’

Prof Oti said that the donation of the building is therefore both timely and highly commendable adding that it would significantly enhance the Institute’s capacity to carry out cutting- edge research, train experts and collaborate with stakeholders in developing sustainable solutions to Erosion and environmental degradation.

She praised the efforts of Prof Frank Ojiako towards facilitating the donation and endowment of the building and said she was not surprised at his capacity given his pedigree and leadership acumen.

The occasion was attended by academics, and guests from different quarters.