From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti has resolved the lingering leadership crisis which enveloped Government College, Umuahia (GCU), by inaugurating the newly reconstituted Fisher Educational Development Trust (FEDT) Board in Umuahia.
Inaugurating the board, comprising members of the Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association (GCUOBA), Gov Otti, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Kenneth Kalu, gave it the task of repositioning the school as a beacon of academic excellence and historical significance.
Otti said the inauguration of the new board aligns with the administration’s broader vision to transform the education sector.
He praised the commitment of the GCUOBA and the school’s principal for their dedication in preserving the college’s legacy.
Governor Otti urged the new board members to discharge their duties with “honesty and sincere effort”, emphasising that the goal was to equip students of Government College Umuahia to compete globally with their peers.
While commending the leadership of the Association for laying the groundwork that has brought the school back to operational status, the Governor stated that the reconstituted FEDT would now serve as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to drive the school’s redevelopment.
National President of GCUOBA, Dr Chinedu Ahaiwe, described the inauguration as a historic and epoch-making occasion.
He traced the school’s origin to the mid-1920s, when Rev Robert Fisher, a Scottish missionary and educationist, helped establish Government College Umuahia as part of a broader British initiative to create elite academic institutions in colonial Nigeria.
Dr Ahaiwe said the founder of the school taught them that greatness lies in service, not in possession, adding that, though Rev Fisher had no biological children, his legacy lives on in generations of GCU alumni.
He expressed gratitude to Governor Otti for endorsing key recommendations from a joint committee of the Abia State House of Assembly in May 2025.
One of the recommendations, he said, was joint oversight of the new Trust Board by the State Government and GCUOBA, and the reinstatement of the school’s mission to provide quality education to intelligent children from all socioeconomic backgrounds, which was the cause of the crisis.
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