The newly-established Ebonyi State Information Communication, Science, and Technology University has matriculated its 187 pioneer students with Governor Francis Nwifuru announcing a five-year full scholarship award for the matriculants.
The ceremony was held on Saturday at the university’s permanent site, Oferekpe Agbaja, Izzi Local Government Area of the state.
Addressing the students, Governor Nwifuru said his administration would continue to maintain zero tolerance for examination malpractice, cultism, and other social vices often synonymous with higher institutions of learning in Nigeria.
He reemphasised that the establishment of the university was aimed at producing graduates who would become job creators through innovation and technology rather than job seekers in an already saturated labour market.
He noted that the rising rate of unemployment has made self-reliance-driven education inevitable.
The governor urged the matriculating students to be good ambassadors of the university, their various communities, and Ebonyi State.
He said they would enjoy the scholarship for five years, even if they fail to benefit from the Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as initially planned.
Nwifuru warned the management against compromising the high academic standards envisioned in the establishment of the institution.
He said entrepreneurship, skills acquisition, and functional education remained key pillars of his administration’s manifesto.
He said: “The essence of this institution is to produce graduates who can think outside the box and provide innovative solutions to societal problems.
“When you key into this vision, you will acquire skills that can lift you and your families out of poverty.”
Governor Nwifuru further disclosed that the construction of the University’s lecture theatres, senate, and administrative buildings, as well as staff and student hostels have reached advanced levels of completion, aimed to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment for all staff and students.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Ernest Egba, said the university has recorded notable research progress since academic activities commenced in mid-2025, including creative sketching, production of medical consumables, and other products supporting female hygiene.
He noted that the institution was deliberately established to advance technological development, stressing that investment in the university represents an investment in the technological future of Ebonyi State and Nigeria.
Egba explained that the university currently runs 20 academic programmes across five faculties: Engineering and Technology; Computing, Communication, Management and Social Sciences; Allied Health Sciences; and Architecture and Environmental Sciences.
The matriculation ceremony, which attracted founding fathers of the state, technocrats, royal fathers, political leaders, the academia, and business magnets from within and outside the state was received with great enthusiasm by the people with many describing it as the fulfillment of a significant content of the People’s Charter of Needs mantra of Governor Nwifuru.
