UMUDIKE, ABIA– The Senate of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), has elected Teacher Princewill Chukwudi Ogbonna as the institution’s brand-new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) in charge of Research study and Advancement (R&D).
Teacher Ogbonna was elected during the university Senate’s 261st Regular Meeting held on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
He will shift into this premium administrative role from his present position as the Dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (CNREM).
Ratification and Institutional Lineage
While the Senate has concluded the voting process, the election is technically based on official ratification by the University Governing Council for a standard two-year period.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Pal Fidelis Chukwunweike Edeh, presently chair the council’s oversight operations.
Upon final approval, Professor Ogbonna will fill the strategic job left behind by the existing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ursula Ngozi Akanwa.
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Professor Akanwa inhabited the DVC (R&D) desk before her historic elevation as the organization’s seventh substantive Vice-Chancellor in March 2026.
An alumnus of MOUAU, Professor Ogbonna brings substantial administrative institutional memory to the workplace.
He has served the farming university in a number of requiring capabilities, consisting of Acting Director of the Directorate of University Development, Performing Head of the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, and his present deanship at CNREM.
Gender Equality Balance Accomplished in Management Structure
The appointment of Professor Ogbonna has developed a mathematically well balanced gender representation in MOUAU’s upper administrative ranks.
Following this latest election, the university’s principal officers’ council is now equally split between 3 females and 3 males, setting a progressive milestone for federal tertiary administration in Nigeria.
The newly balanced management team will be charged with steering the university’s research study commercialisation, digital records windows registries, and specialised agricultural extension grants over the next functional session.
With the 2025/2026 second-semester evaluation procedures finishing up across the Umudike campus, the Governing Council is anticipated to meet in the coming weeks to formalize Ogbonna’s documents.
This action will enable his office to immediately roll out brand-new frameworks for climate-smart farming research and worldwide innovation grants.