Speaking during the University of Uyo Alumni Association's one-year anniversary lecture and the official handover of the renovated 550-capacity ELF Lecture Theatre at the institution's main campus on Nwaniba Road on Friday, Ekong lamented that federal universities are struggling to remain operational amid shrinking capital allocations and increasing financial obligations.
The event, themed "From Great Minds to Great Impact," brought together university management, alumni, academics and stakeholders to reflect on the role of graduates in institutional development.
Ekong expressed disappointment over what he described as the persistent underfunding of Nigerian universities, revealing that capital allocations to public universities have remained below 10 per cent over the last four years.
"It’s disappointing that Nigerian Universities are still not being well funded. Capital budget for the past four years given to universities is less than 10 percent. The universities have no money, but federal officials are coming every year to collect 25% of the internally generated revenue and if you don’t give they will charge from your personnel budget, the budget you should have used in paying. That is the situation that we are in, God will help us," Ekong said.
The Vice Chancellor explained that the current financial realities have left universities with limited resources to improve infrastructure, invest in research and provide quality education, stressing that institutions are increasingly relying on internally generated revenue to survive.
He appealed to the University's Alumni Association to play a more active role in supporting the institution through strategic interventions capable of bridging the funding gap.
"The universities are so poor, we want the Alumni to help us. I want to thank the Association for taking positive steps towards the provision of this recovered edifice. During the courtesy visit in the morning, I said I’m going to invite the Alumni into my Advisory Committee, so you can know what we are doing with the money we collect on your behalf, know what we are doing with intellectual property because it’s your university," he added.
Ekong said involving the alumni in the university's advisory process would strengthen transparency, accountability and collaboration while encouraging greater participation in the institution's growth and development.
Earlier, President of the University of Uyo Alumni Association, Mr. Ekerete Adiaiduo, highlighted some of the association's achievements over the past year, particularly interventions aimed at resolving challenges that had negatively affected students and graduates.
According to him, one of the association's earliest interventions addressed the prolonged delay in transcript processing, a challenge that had frustrated graduates seeking academic and professional opportunities within and outside Nigeria.
"One of our earliest and most consequential interventions addressed a crisis that had put students, graduates, and institutional stakeholders in a state of prolonged anxiety concerning the delayed transcript issuance debacle.
"Power supply to the Examinations and Records Unit had become so erratic that operations were near-paralysed. We acted. We provided a generating set to augment electricity supply to that unit, restoring efficiency and calming nerves that had been on edge for too long. Alumni who needed their credentials to pursue opportunities abroad could breathe again," Adiaiduo said.
He noted that beyond addressing immediate institutional challenges, the association has also intensified efforts to reconnect with University of Uyo graduates across the world.
According to him, ongoing outreach initiatives are aimed at building a stronger global alumni network that can contribute expertise, partnerships, investments and goodwill towards the continued development of the university.
Delivering the keynote lecture titled "From Great Minds to Great Impacts: The Role of Alumni Associations in Institutional Growth and National Transformation," former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Philip Afaha, urged alumni bodies to remain focused on advancing institutional development rather than pursuing personal interests.
Afaha warned against the growing trend in some institutions where alumni associations allegedly mount pressure on university management for contracts, employment opportunities and admission slots.
"Though universities are mostly established by the state, like the case of UniUyo, universities require constant interventions and support of their products to survive. Universities should not rely entirely on the government in a troubled economy like ours, when the economy is on life support.
"Alumni must step in as an important source that the university can turn to in difficult situations. Alumni Association role is to attract development to the university through scholarship, grants, endowment, infrastructure, research support etc, and not an empowerment platform for former students."
He maintained that alumni associations should serve as strategic partners in strengthening academic excellence, supporting research, expanding infrastructure and promoting sustainable institutional growth, especially at a time when public universities are grappling with severe financial constraints.