The Igboesa General Assembly has publicly mourned the death of Prof. Ndubuisi Idenyi, a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and former Vice Chancellor of the First African Distance Learning University (FADLU), who died on Saturday, October 3, 2026, after a battle with throat cancer.
In a condolence message dated Tuesday, October 6, signed by the President General Tony Edeh and Secretary General Joel Ebenyi, the group said it received news of Idenyi's passing with "profound shock and deep sorrow." The statement described him as a proud son of Nkalaha Community who carried the identity and values of the Igboesa Clan with dignity wherever he went.
Igboesa General Assembly Mourns a Rare Gem
The assembly called his death a major loss to his family, Nkalaha Community, the wider Igboesa Clan and the academic world at large. "We pray that God in His infinite mercy grants his gentle soul eternal rest in His bosom," the statement read, adding, "May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen. Adieu, Prof!"
Community stakeholder Ojiabor Igboesa also paid tribute to the late professor in a Facebook post on Wednesday, October 7, but went further to raise questions about the circumstances surrounding Idenyi's illness and the treatment he was able to access.
Stakeholder Raises Concerns Over Healthcare and Suspension
Ojiabor described the atmosphere across the Igboesa clan as one of "sorrow, disbelief, and the aching weight of loss," and used the occasion to criticise what he called Nigeria's failing healthcare priorities. "Ebonyi State today boasts over twenty flyovers scattered across communities, yet lacks a single decent, functional general hospital outside the Federal Teaching Hospital," he wrote, adding, "What comfort is a flyover to a dying man who cannot access good medical care?"
Ojiabor also alleged that Idenyi, who served as Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Ebonyi State University (EBSU), was suspended without pay in October 2016 alongside other union leaders during the administration of former Governor David Umahi. He claimed the suspension arose from demands over unpaid professorial promotions dating to 2014 and salary reductions the academics considered unlawful.
He further alleged that an Industrial Court of Arbitration ordered in September 2023 that withheld salaries owed to Idenyi and Professor Ikechukwu Igwenyi be paid, along with N6 million in dissuasive compensation, but that the order was not carried out until 2025, when Governor Ogbonna Nwifuru lifted Idenyi's suspension. These claims could not be independently verified.
Idenyi Remembered for Academic Excellence
Beyond the controversy, both Ojiabor and the Igboesa General Assembly paid tribute to Idenyi's scholarly legacy. He authored more than 80 publications in international journals, with research spanning ceramics, polymers, composites, corrosion monitoring and green inhibitors. He also served on the Academic Board of Mechanical Engineering at Ebonyi State University.
"He was a mentor, a gentle soul, a beacon of humility and brilliance. His life was a gift. His death is a wound," Ojiabor wrote.
The death of Prof. Idenyi adds to a series of losses in Nigeria's academic community, following the passing of Biodun Jeyifo, a renowned scholar and public intellectual, who died on February 11 at age 80. The Institute of African Studies (IAS), University of Ibadan, had expressed grief over Jeyifo's death. The full impact of Idenyi's death on his family, the Nkalaha community, and the academic world remains a subject of ongoing reflection and mourning.
