BREAKING: NOUN gets new Vice Chancellor

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has announced the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of NOUN’s Governing Council, Mallam Isa Yuguda, named the new Vice Chancellor as Professor Uduma Oji Uduma.

He disclosed that Professor Uduma emerged as the new Vice-Chancellor after a rigorous selection exercise that lasted about two months and involved about 30 contenders.

According to Yuguda, the process was conducted transparently, based on merit, relevant qualifications, and with due regard for justice and equity.

“The University is pleased to announce that the Governing Council has approved the appointment of Professor Uduma O. Uduma as the new Vice-Chancellor, effective 11th February 2026. Professor Uduma’s appointment follows the expiration of the current Vice-Chancellor’s term on 11th February 2026,” Yuguda stated.

The former Bauchi governor, said Professor Uduma, who is a Professor of Philosophy and Logic as well as a Barrister-at-Law, brings a wealth of experience to the role.

“Born on 30th January, 1966, he obtained his first degree from the University of Calabar, graduating as the best student in his faculty, and thereafter obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Philosophy from the University of Lagos. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2007. Over the course of his career, he has held several academic and administrative positions, including Head of Department, Director of General Studies, Director of Academic Planning, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the National Open University of Nigeria.

“He has served as Study Centre Director, at Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, where he increased student enrolment from 496 to over 2,000. He has a strong research visibility as respected Google Scholar.

“The University looks forward to Professor Uduma’s leadership and vision as he assumes office on 11th February, 2026. We are confident that his expertise and experience will drive the University’s continued growth and success going forward,” he said.

The Pro-Chancellor also commended the growing impact of NOUN across the country, noting that the institution is expanding infrastructure to extend educational access to rural communities.

“What we are doing now as Council, and also the management of the university, as being piloted by the Vice-Chancellor, is to provide the infrastructure and technology to deliver online education to the most rural parts of Nigeria,” he said.

He added that the initiative would also enable older Nigerians who never had the opportunity of higher education to earn degrees comparable in quality to those of renowned global institutions.

“And even for those elders who have not had the benefit of attending university, now they can earn their degree. And these degrees can compete fairly with Cambridge and Oxford and Harvard universities, as it used to be in Nigerian universities in the 70s, the 80s,” the Pro-Chancellor added.

PlatinumPost reports that Professor Uduma will take over from the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olufemi Peters, whose five-year tenure will end on February 11, 2026.