{"id":22971,"date":"2025-03-22T06:11:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T06:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/?p=22971"},"modified":"2025-03-22T06:18:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T06:18:38","slug":"unical50-betta-edu-akpabio-kalu-gov-otu-others-honored-as-grand-ambassadors-inducted-into-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/?p=22971","title":{"rendered":"UNICAL@50: Betta Edu, Akpabio, Kalu, Gov. Otu, Others Honored as Grand Ambassadors, Inducted into Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

In commemoration of its <\/span>50th anniversary<\/span>, the <\/span>University of Calabar<\/span> on <\/span>Thursday evening<\/span> honored several eminent Nigerians, including <\/span>Dr. Betta Edu<\/span>, <\/span>President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio<\/span>, <\/span>Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu<\/span>, and <\/span>Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu<\/span>, among others.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They were <\/span>awarded the Grand Ambassador and Legacy Face of the University<\/span> and were also <\/span>permanently inducted into the University\u2019s Hall of Fame<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, <\/span>Dr. Edu<\/span> expressed her gratitude to the University\u2019s management for the recognition, describing it as an <\/span>\u201cincredible honor.\u201d<\/span> She pledged to continue being a <\/span>good ambassador of the institution<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She also paid glowing tribute to <\/span>President Bola Tinubu<\/span> for his <\/span>support and fatherly guidance<\/span>, assuring Nigerians, especially those in the education sector, that <\/span>there is bright light ahead with the Renewed Hope Agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her words: <\/span>\u201cThank you to the University\u2019s esteemed management and staff for this incredible honor. I am truly humbled to receive this award, and I am grateful for the recognition in the Hall of Fame.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my golden Vice-Chancellor and her team, the Student Union Government, and my lecturers who have always supported me throughout my journey and built the leadership foundation for my public service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI am completely overwhelmed with gratitude and joy. This award is not just a recognition of my efforts but also a testament to the fact that more responsibilities have been given to me, with far-reaching impact in Nigeria and across the globe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking further, <\/span>Dr. Betta Edu<\/span> paid special tribute to <\/span>UNICAL<\/span>, describing it as <\/span>\u201cmy very powerful University that actually built the leadership skills in me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To support the university\u2019s infrastructural projects, she announced that the <\/span>Class of 2009 of the Medical School<\/span> would <\/span>contribute N15 million towards the completion and equipping of the new medical center at the University of Calabar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have asked me to make this pledge on their behalf,\u201d<\/span> she stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier in her welcome address, <\/span>Professor Obi<\/span> reflected on <\/span>UNICAL\u2019s journey<\/span>, from its early days as a <\/span>campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka<\/span>, to its establishment in <\/span>1975 as a full-fledged university.<\/span> She described the milestone as <\/span>\u201c50 years of resilience, 50 years of impactful knowledge, and service to humanity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud to have the Senate President of Nigeria as one of us. We are proud to have the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor of Cross River State, ministers, senators, and, indeed, the Deputy Governor of Cross River State,\u201d<\/span> she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, we are very proud of my daughter, Dr. Betta Edu, for always making the University proud,\u201d<\/span> she added.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, the University of Calabar on Thursday evening honored several eminent Nigerians, including Dr. Betta Edu, President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, and Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2306,7790,10418,10419,10420,10417,10416],"class_list":["post-22971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro","tag-akpabio","tag-betta-edu","tag-gov-otu","tag-grand-ambassadors","tag-hall-of-fame","tag-kalu","tag-unical50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22971"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22980,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22971\/revisions\/22980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}