The Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Delta State, Anthony Kila, has offered to make documents supporting his professorial status available after a report questioned the basis of his title.
Kila, who also heads the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, rejected the description of him as a “fake professor”, saying the claim was inaccurate and damaging to his reputation.
He said the controversy should be resolved by examining the relevant facts and supporting documents rather than relying on what he described as an incomplete understanding of his academic credentials.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am a professor, and I stand by the title and the professional and academic credentials on which it is based,” Kila said.
The statement followed a report by PREMIUM TIMES which alleged that Kila had falsely presented himself as a professor and a “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development”, claiming that it found no evidence that a recognised university had awarded him the academic rank.
Kila said his professorship was awarded in 2016 by the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies, which he said was based in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
He objected to the description “fake professor”, arguing that it had been presented as an established fact with serious implications for his reputation and professional standing.
“I am baffled by the level of attention directed at me,” he said, noting that he was neither a political office holder nor a government official.
Kila said he recognised the role of journalists in scrutinising the credentials of people holding positions of responsibility, but insisted that such scrutiny should be based on a fair understanding of the facts.
He also said he was prepared to provide documents relating to his professorial status.
The academic and administrator thanked colleagues, students and members of the public who contacted him after the report to express confidence in his credentials.
The controversy has centred on the status and institutional basis of the professorial title, with Kila maintaining that he is entitled to use it and offering documentation to support his position.
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