Peter Obi Decries UNICAL Dental Students’ Crisis, Says No Student Should Suffer for Leadership Failures

Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged the Federal Government and the leadership of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) to immediately resolve the ongoing crisis affecting dental students’ graduation and induction quota at the institution.

In a statement released on Saturday, Obi expressed concern over reports of delays and disruptions in the academic progression of dental students at UNICAL. He noted that while the university’s Vice Chancellor has promised to address the situation, “no student should suffer due to what I consider a failure of leadership.”

Obi recalled a similar challenge he faced as governor when the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria shut down the medical school at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University for lacking a teaching hospital. At the time, students were at risk of graduating with unrelated degrees despite years of medical training.

“I refused to let those innocent students become victims,” Obi said. “I committed to building a functional teaching hospital within two years, and despite skepticism, I completed and commissioned what is now the Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital in Awka in less than 18 months.”

He stressed that education, particularly in critical sectors like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is too vital to be jeopardized by bureaucratic lapses or inadequate infrastructure.

Obi called on the Federal Government to urgently provide financial and institutional support to UNICAL, enabling the university leadership to resolve the matter swiftly.

“Our children must not continue to lose their future in Nigeria,” Obi warned. “At this critical time in our nation, we cannot afford to neglect education and healthcare, while wasting resources on areas that bring no tangible value. A New Nigeria is Possible.”