R-L : Prof. Uduma Oji Uduma receives the instrument of office as the new Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) from his predecessor, Prof. Olufemi A. Peters, at the university headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
By Felix Khanoba
The new Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Uduma Oji Uduma, on Wednesday assumed office and announced six priority areas that will shape his administration.
The priorities include strengthening study centres, enhancing learner support systems, improving ICT and digital infrastructure, ensuring the integrity of e-examinations, promoting staff welfare, and sustaining quality assurance and accreditation standards.
Uduma spoke at a ceremony where his predecessor, Prof. Olufemi Ayinde Peters, formally handed over the leadership of the university to him for the next five years.
In a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity, NOUN, Dr. Ibrahim Sheme, the university said the ceremony, held at its headquarters in Abuja, signalled the beginning of a new chapter in the institution’s history.
The AUTHORITY reports that Uduma, a Professor of Philosophy and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the university, is now the sixth Vice-Chancellor of NOUN.
His appointment was first announced by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Malam Isa Yuguda, at a press conference in Abuja on October 10, 2025.
In his assumption-of-office speech titled, “Rising to Build: Stewardship, Access, and Excellence for a New NOUN Era,” Uduma described his appointment as a “solemn national trust” and a call to purposeful service.
According to him, “Leadership is not ornamental; it is functional. It is not a posture of arrival, but a posture of responsibility.”
Reaffirming NOUN’s mandate, the new VC emphasised the university’s mission of democratising access to quality higher education and removing barriers of geography, age, employment status, gender and circumstance.
He recalled his experience as director of the Abakaliki study centre, noting that he is the first NOUN Vice-Chancellor with prior study centre experience, a development he said would guide efforts to improve the centres.
“I come into this office not to experiment, but to build,” he said.
Uduma acknowledged the growing influx of young learners into the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system, describing it as an evolution of NOUN’s mandate rather than a departure from it.
He stressed the need to balance flexibility with discipline, as well as innovation with academic integrity.
The new VC called for unity among the university Council, management, staff, students, alumni and partners, while emphasising continuity and collective ownership.
He urged the university community to “rise up and build,” adding that NOUN must remain a model of open and distance learning that combines access with credibility and national service with global relevance.
Uduma also paid tribute to his predecessor, Professor Olufemi A. Peters, and earlier leaders of the institution, describing the university’s leadership as “a relay, not a rupture.”
He pledged to consolidate existing achievements while advancing the university’s mission in a rapidly evolving digital and knowledge-driven environment.
In his valedictory speech, Prof. Peters thanked the NOUN council, Senate, principal officers and staff for their support during his five-year tenure.
“I am profoundly grateful to God Almighty for raising me when hope seemed lost, God has been good to Femi Peters,” he added.
He commended his successor for visiting different directorates, units and study centres during the transition period, saying the move had prepared him to hit the ground running.
Earlier, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Chiedu Mafiana, praised the outgoing VC for his resilience in ensuring NOUN gained global recognition in open and distance learning.
In his vote of thanks, the university Registrar, Mr. Oladipo Ajayi, welcomed the new Vice-Chancellor, saying, “We welcome you at this defining moment of history. As you have often said, you are the keeper, the gatekeeper standing between the legacy of the old guards and the promise of the future. The Senate is confident that you will carry this sacred trust with wisdom, courage, and vision.”
Ajayi also described Peters as someone who “stands, truly, as one of the last of the Mohicans, a custodian of institutional memory, an exemplar of fidelity, and a member of that noble old guard who kept faith when faith mattered most; who held the compass steady when the waters were uncertain; and who remained a guiding spirit in preserving and advancing the very essence of our defining mandate: Open and Distance Learning.”
The ceremony featured the presentation of a handover note, the NOUN Act of 1983 as amended in 2018, the university seal symbolising the VC’s office, the Senate gavel, and a red pen representing authority.
Colleagues, staff, family members, friends and associates attended the event, which was marked by dignity and reflection as the university witnessed the symbolic transfer of leadership.
