By Felix Khanoba
The Governing Council of University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has approved the appointment of 40-year-old Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi as Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic.
The Council also approved Professor Philip Uso Afaha as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration.
The new appointments were made at the 96th Regular Meeting held on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th May 2023.
A statement by the Registrar, Yahya Mohammed, said the Council’s approval followed the selection of the two deputy vice-chancellors at the 78th Extra-ordinary meeting of Senate held on Wednesday 22nd March 2023, in accordance with the provision of the University of Abuja Act.
Mohammed said the appointment which took effect from 5th May 2023 was for a period of 2 (two) years in the first instance.
A statement made available to newsmen on Monday by Dr Habib Yakoob – Acting Director, Directorate of Information and University Relations, said Maikudi, who is the youngest professor of law in Nigeria joined the services of UniAbuja in 2008 while Afaha was employed by the institution in 2011.
The statement provided the profiles of the two new deputy vice chancellors thus:
” Aisha Sani Maikudi
The new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) was born on 31st January 1983. She obtained her LLB from the University of Reading in 2004 and LLM from the London School of Economics & Political Science in 2005, and later bagged a PhD in International Law in 2015 from the University of Abuja.
Maikudi joined the service of the University of Abuja on 4th September 2008 as Lecturer II rising to the rank of professor in 2022.
A professor of International Law, Maikudi became the first female Deputy Dean, Faculty of Law, in 2018, and later the pioneer director, University of Abuja International Centre in 2019.
She is also the youngest professor of Law in Nigeria and the only female professor from the Northwest.
Maikudi has attended several National and International conferences in the UK, US, South Africa, Germany, Italy, and Egypt.
She is a member of several professional bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Law Teachers Association (NLTA), and International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).
She is passionate about research in United Nations.
Philip Uso Afaha
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) was born on 8th December 1972. He obtained his BA and MA from the University of Uyo in 1995 and 2004, respectively and later bagged a PhD in History in 2011 from University of Abuja.
Afaha joined the services of the University of Abuja in January 2013 in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies as a senior lecturer, rising to the rank of professor.
A consummate public speaker and administrator, he had a stint as Branch Manager of UACN Plc Uyo from 1997 to 2000. He also served as an Intern with the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs (NDI), Abuja in 2004, and was later appointed Personal Assistant to Senator Uche Chukwumerije at the National Assembly, Abuja between 2005 and 2007.
The professor of History and Inter-Group Relations was a former Deputy Director of Consultancy Services Unit, Head of the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, and Director of the Institute for Legislative Studies of the University of Abuja. Prof Philip Afaha was appointed as an International Observer and Leader of the African Delegation to the General Elections in Venezuela in November 2021.
He is a member of many professional bodies including Historical Society of Nigeria, World History Association, and also a Senior Research Fellow of IFRA. He has contributed over forty scholarly publications in reputable local and international journals; chapters in books in addition to papers presented at conferences. His research interests include Inter-group Relations, Conflict Resolution and Diplomatic Studies. Afaha has convened and chaired several academic panels in several international conferences in reputable foreign universities such as Universitie-de-Lisboa Portugal (2013), Tennessee University, USA (2014), and the University of Cambridge, UK (2016). “
