Delta varsity removes Kila’s profile from website over ‘fake professor’ controversy

The Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Delta State, Anthony Kila

Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Delta State, has removed the profile and photographs of its Pro-Chancellor, Anthony Kila, from its website following allegations that he falsely used the title of professor.

A review of the university’s website at about 09:25am on Tuesday showed that Kila’s name, profile and photographs were no longer displayed on the platform.

His details had previously appeared alongside those of the university’s proprietress, Cecilia Ibru, a former banker and chief executive officer of the defunct Oceanic Bank, and the Vice-Chancellor, Ibiyinka Fuwape, a professor.

The removal comes days after PREMIUM TIMES reported that its investigation found no evidence that a recognised university had awarded Kila the academic rank of professor, despite his longstanding use of the title.

The development has raised further questions about the university’s position on the allegations, although the institution has yet to issue a public statement addressing the investigation.

The Vice-Chancellor, Fuwape, had told the online platform that the university would respond to the questions raised by its investigation.

Kila, however, has rejected the description of him as a “fake professor”, insisting that the characterisation was inaccurate, misleading and damaging to his reputation.

PUNCH Online had reported that Kila, in a statement responding to a publication dated October 3, 2026, maintained that he remained a professor and stood by the academic and professional credentials supporting his title.

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“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,” he said.

He argued that the report was based on what he described as an incomplete understanding of the nature, origin and institutional basis of his professorship.

According to him, he was prepared to make documents relating to his professorial status available for scrutiny.

Kila, who is also the Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, objected to the description “fake professor”, saying it was presented as a factual conclusion with serious implications for his reputation.

“I am baffled by the level of attention directed at me,” he said, adding that he neither held political office nor was seeking one and was not a government official.

He acknowledged the role of journalism in scrutinising the credentials of people occupying positions of responsibility but said such scrutiny should be conducted fairly and with a proper understanding of the facts.

The statement followed an investigation, which reported that Kila said the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies, which he described as based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, awarded him the professorship in 2016.

The university’s removal of his profile has not, in itself, established whether the title was valid, and the institution has yet to publicly explain the reason for the change.