. NUC recognizes MSC as rightful owners
. as missionaries pladge to liquidate arrears of N10m annual honorarium owed to Ezeonwuka, varsity’s take-off campus donor
. students stranded on campus as parents scamper for their children’s safety
By Chuks Eke
The ownership crisis currently plaguing the management of Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra state is gradually assuming a dangerous dimension.
At the center of the ownership crisis are members of the Missionary Servants of the Church, MSC now known as Missionary Sons of the Blessed Tansi, MST and a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Edwin Obiorah, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN who is currently occupying the seat of Chancellor/Chairman Board of Trustees.
The university was originally registered by the late Monsignor John Bosco Akam as Tansian University, TANU, Oba/Umunya but on discovery that it has been re-registered by Fr. Obiorah as Tansian University Ltd/Gtd, the ownership crisis escalated.
Meantime, the MST has issued a notice of termination of legal representation to Fr. Obiorah and demanded that he should hand over all files within his possession within seven days from the date of the termination notice.
In the termination letter jointly signed by Rev. Dan Igwilo, Coordinator of MST and Bro. Paulde Silas Inuen, Secretary, MST explained that the termination of Fr. Obiorah’s appointment arises from serious concerns including convertion of institutional properties, false and misleading legal representations in matters concerning the institution and unauthorized assumption or exercise of authority in matters affecting MST.
While members of MST is insisting that Prof. Eugene Nwadialor should be retained as Vice-Chancellor of the university, Fr. Obiorah appointed Rev. Fr. Prof. Nnamdi Ambrose as his own preferred Vice Chancellor, following the sudden death of Prof. Cater Umeoduagu who died barely 24 hours after Fr. Obiorah appointed him the acting Vice-Chancellor to take over from Nwadialor who traveled to overseas for a medical checkup.
The university which was duly approved by the National Universities Commission, NUC in 2007, had been engrossed in ownership crisis since 2021 following the demise of it’s Founder/Chancellor, late Monsignor John Bosco Akam, a Catholic priest and founder of Missionary Servants of the Church, MSC also known as Missionary Sons of the Blessed Tansi, MST.
Apart from the ownership crisis, another aspect of misunderstanding bedeviling the university even before the demise of late Monsignor Akam is non payment of an annual honorarium of N10 million per annum to Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, the donor of the university’s take-off campus at Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The misunderstanding started rearing its ugly head few years after a consensus judgement was delivered by an Anambra State High Court directing Monsignor Akam and his management team of the university to be paying Ezeonwuka N10 million per annum as honorarium for donating his landed property with structures as take-off campus of the university.
NUC equally approved the payment and directed that it should be called honorarium and not Land, house or property rent.
The late Monsignor Akam and his management team paid the annual honorarium to Ezeonwuka for few years after the consent court judgement and stopped on the ground of paucity of funds.
Following the accumulation of the annual honorarium debt before and after the death of Akam, Ezeonwuka headed to a court in Anambra state and obtained a judgement which mandated him to sell off moveable and immoveable properties of the university to recover the accumulated debt arising from non payment of the honorarium.
The university management, under Rev Fr. Edwin Obiorah, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN headed to Court of Appeal and appealed against the High Court judgement but the Appeal Court, after some years, upheld the judgement of the lower court which directed Ezeonwuka to sell off moveable and immoveable properties of the university to recover the accumulated honorarium debt.
At the moment, the case is still pending before the Supreme Court where Fr. Obiorah is challenging the decisions of both the state High Court and the Appeal Court.
Commenting on the development, Chief Ezeonwuka who has the Chieftaincy title of Ogilisi Igbo (Spiritual father of Igbo land), told newsmen on phone that for more than 10 years now, the honorarium debt owed to him by the university management has accumulated so much.
At the moment, the Missionary Servants of the Church, MSC whom the late Monsignor Akam, founder of the university Willed the university to before his demise, has agreed to honor the honorarium agreement entered into by both Ezeonwuka and the university management as consent judgment in his favour as the owner of Oba take- off campus.
One of the leaders of MST, Rev. Val Onyelusi who spoke to newsmen on phone, said MST is already in talk with Ezeonwuka on the possibility of liquidating the debt as soon as the university is recovered from the grip of Rev. Fr. Obiorah who he alleged was employed by the late Monsignor Akam as just the university lawyer but he went behind and re-registered the university as Tansian University Ltd/Gtr, Umunya, Anambra State and promoted himself to the rank of Chancellor and Chairman Board of Trustees.
The late Monsignor Akam had in his Will and Testament, dated October 5, 2014, directed that the owners of Tansian University and prime beneficiaries of his entire Estate shall be the MST, adding, “I hereby direct the Governing Council, Board of Trustees, the Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor of Tansian University to give 70 percent of all profits of the university to the MST”.
The National Universities Commission, NUC in its own statement dated August 18, 2026 and signed by Mrs. Justina Emerole, Director of Inspection and Monitoring on behalf of the Executive Secretary, said it recognizes MST as the proprietor of Tansian University based on provisions of Section 1(3) and Section 30 of Tansian University Law (2007).
NUC in its letter to the Commander, Intelligence Response Team, IRT, Office of the Commissioner of Police, Force Intelligence Department, FID, noted that Rev. Fr. Obiorah and his board did not satisfy the extant regulations on background check and security clearance by the DSS as there was no evidence that NUC forwarded their names for clearance.
According to the Commission’s letter with Ref. NUC/ES/15/Vol.2/449, titled: Re: Investigation Activities: Re: Case of criminal conspiracy, impersonation, forgery, attempted murder and fraud, the Commission declared: “our efforts at restoring peace in TANU over the years appears not yielding the desired fruits as evidenced by the recent crisis in the institution”.
“Nonetheless, a further step was taken by sending an eight-man Forensic Audit Team, FAT to the university from 21 – 28 June, 2026 for fact finding and recommendation towards amicable resolution and the management of NUC is reviewing the report of FAT with due diligencen for decisive action aimed at restoring stability and enthroning a governance framework that is consistent with best practices in the Nigerian university system”.
Meantime, students of Tansian University are currently stranded on campus as their parents scamper for their safety as mobile policemen barricade the gates of both the Oba take-off campus and the Umunya main campus.
All efforts to get Fr. Obiorah SAN to react to both the termination letter to him from the MSC and the letter from NUC saying that the commission does not recognize Tansian University Ltd/Gte registered by him proved abortlve as he could not respond to his calls as at the time of filing this report.
