KILA STANDS BY PROFESSORIAL TITLE AS MCIU REMOVES HIS ONLINE PROFILE

Anthony Kila has maintained that he is a professor and stands by the academic credentials supporting the title, even as the Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, MCIU, has removed his profile and photographs from its official website following a PREMIUM TIMES investigation that questioned the validity of his professorial claim.

The development has deepened scrutiny of the academic credentials of Kila, who has served as the university’s Pro-Chancellor since August 2025 and has for years been publicly addressed and presented as a professor.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on October 3 that its investigation found no evidence that a recognised academic institution had awarded Kila the academic rank of professor.

The newspaper also questioned his description as a “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development.”Kila has rejected the characterisation, insisting that he remains a professor and that the allegations do not accurately reflect the basis of his academic standing.

KILA INSISTS: “I AM A PROFESSOR”

In a response to the investigation published on October 5, Kila said he stood by his professorial title and the professional and academic credentials on which it was based.

He disputed the description of him as a “fake professor”, describing the characterisation as inaccurate, misleading and damaging to his reputation and professional standing.

Kila said the report reflected what he considered an incomplete understanding of the origin and institutional basis of his professorship.

However, PREMIUM TIMES reported that his response did not provide documentary evidence resolving some of the central questions raised by its investigation.

According to the newspaper, Kila did not identify the legal or academic status of the institution he said awarded him the professorship, nor did he produce a certificate, appointment letter or other document demonstrating that a recognised institution conferred the professorial rank on him.

THE ECAPS CLAIM

Kila had told PREMIUM TIMES that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies, ECAPS, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, awarded him the professorship in 2016.

The investigation, however, said searches of the UK Companies House, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission and other online sources produced no evidence of the institution, including an identifiable website, physical address, social media presence or alumni records.

The newspaper therefore questioned the existence and academic standing of ECAPS and whether it could legitimately confer a professorial rank.

These findings remain central to the dispute because Kila’s defence rests partly on the claim that the professorship originated from the institution.

UNIVERSITY REMOVES KILA’S PROFILE

Amid the controversy, MCIU has now removed Kila’s name, profile and photographs from its website. A review of the university’s website showed that his details, which had previously appeared alongside those of university proprietress Cecilia Ibru and Vice-Chancellor Ibiyinka Fuwape, were no longer displayed.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that its review of the website around 7 p.m. on Monday found no trace of Kila’s profile.

ValidViewNetwork also independently reports that his profile and photographs had been removed from the University’s website when it checked earlier today.

The removal is the latest development in a controversy that has placed the academic credentials of a senior university governing official under public scrutiny.

The university, however, has not publicly announced that Kila’s professorship is invalid, nor has it publicly stated that his removal from the website amounts to a termination of his position as Pro-Chancellor.

UNIVERSITY HAD EARLIER PROMISED A RESPONSE

The latest development follows an earlier statement from the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Ibiyinka Fuwape, that the institution would respond to questions arising from the PREMIUM TIMES investigation.

Fuwape had said the university council would meet before a formal response was issued. The university had previously maintained that it had no information contradicting Kila’s claim to the title of professor.

That position has now been followed by the removal of Kila’s online profile, although the institution has yet to issue a detailed public explanation for the change.

ICPC ALSO OPENS A NEW DIMENSION

The controversy has also attracted the attention of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on October 6 that the anti-corruption agency had constituted a team to investigate the allegations surrounding Kila’s professorship and examine whether MCIU may have benefited from his claimed academic status.

According to a source cited by the newspaper, the investigation would examine not only whether Kila falsely presented himself as a professor but also whether his professorial status was used in official documents, engagements or representations by the university.

The ICPC spokesperson, John Odey, told reporters that he was not yet aware of the investigation but said he would check with the relevant desk.

WHY THE CONTROVERSY MATTERS

The controversy goes beyond the title attached to one individual because Kila occupies the position of Pro-Chancellor of a Nigerian university.

A Pro-Chancellor chairs the governing council, which has responsibility for broad oversight of the institution’s administration, policies, finances and assets.

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That makes the verification of credentials attached to such an office a matter of institutional credibility, particularly where the disputed title is an academic rank.

The central issue therefore remains whether Kila can provide independently verifiable evidence showing the institution that awarded him the professorship, the legal and academic standing of that institution, and the specific basis on which the title was conferred.

Until those questions are conclusively addressed, the competing claims remain part of an unresolved public dispute.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the latest development is not a judicial determination that Kila is a “fake professor”. Rather, it is a continuation of an investigation into his professorial claim, followed by his public rejection of the allegation and the subsequent removal of his profile from the website of the university where he serves as Pro-Chancellor.

The episode underscores the importance of independently verifying academic credentials, particularly when such qualifications are attached to positions of authority in institutions responsible for maintaining academic standards.