{"id":27886,"date":"2026-02-12T18:05:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/?p=27886"},"modified":"2026-02-12T18:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:05:35","slug":"prof-uduma-takes-over-as-vc-noun-presents-six-point-agenda-as-prof-peters-bows-out-lauds-successor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/?p=27886","title":{"rendered":"Prof. Uduma Takes Over as VC NOUN, Presents Six-Point Agenda, As Prof. Peters Bows Out, Lauds Successor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Samson Yaki & Linda Eneh Ajaka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Uduma Oji Uduma has formally assumed office as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), unveiling a six-point reform agenda aimed at strengthening the institution\u2019s academic standards and operational efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Uduma took over on Wednesday at the university\u2019s headquarters in Abuja from Professor Olufemi Peters, whose five-year tenure came to an end.
In his inaugural address, the new Vice-Chancellor described his appointment as a \u201csolemn national trust\u201d and pledged to reposition the university through reforms focused on strengthening study centres, enhancing learner support systems, improving information and communication technology (ICT) and digital infrastructure, safeguarding the integrity of e-examinations, promoting staff welfare, and consolidating institutional effectiveness.
\u201cLeadership is not ornamental; it is functional. It is not a posture of arrival, but a posture of responsibility,\u201d Uduma declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


He reaffirmed NOUN\u2019s mandate of democratising access to quality higher education, stressing that the institution must continue to eliminate barriers related to geography, age, employment status, gender, and social circumstances.
The Vice-Chancellor noted the increasing enrollment of younger learners into the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system, describing it as an evolution of the university\u2019s mission rather than a departure from its founding vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Calling for unity among the governing council, management, staff, students, alumni and partners, Uduma emphasised the need to balance flexibility with discipline and innovation with academic integrity. He urged the university community to work collectively to sustain NOUN\u2019s credibility and global relevance.
Uduma, a professor of philosophy and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the institution, is expected to serve a five-year term. His appointment was earlier announced on October 10, 2025, by Isa Yuguda, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In his valedictory speech, outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Olufemi Peters expressed gratitude to the NOUN Governing Council, Senate, principal officers and staff for their support throughout his tenure.
\u201cI am profoundly grateful to God Almighty for raising me when hope seemed lost. God has been good to Femi Peters,\u201d he said.
Peters commended Uduma for visiting various directorates, units and study centres during the transition period, noting that the engagements had prepared him to \u201chit the ground running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The highpoint of the ceremony was the formal presentation of handover documents, including the NOUN Act of 1983 as amended in 2018, the official seal of the university symbolising the authority of the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s office, the Senate gavel, and a red pen signifying executive authority.
The event marked the official transfer of leadership at Nigeria\u2019s foremost open and distance learning institution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Samson Yaki & Linda Eneh Ajaka Professor Uduma Oji Uduma has formally assumed office as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), unveiling a six-point reform agenda aimed at strengthening the institution\u2019s academic standards and operational efficiency. Uduma took over on Wednesday at the university\u2019s headquarters in Abuja from Professor Olufemi Peters, whose five-year tenure came to an end.In his inaugural address, the new Vice-Chancellor described his appointment as a \u201csolemn national trust\u201d and pledged to reposition the university through reforms focused on strengthening study centres, enhancing learner support systems, improving information and communication technology (ICT) and digital infrastructure, safeguarding the integrity of e-examinations, promoting staff welfare, and consolidating institutional effectiveness.\u201cLeadership is not ornamental; it is functional. It is not a posture of arrival, but a posture of responsibility,\u201d Uduma declared. He reaffirmed NOUN\u2019s mandate of democratising access to quality higher education, stressing that the institution must continue to eliminate barriers related to geography, age, employment status, gender, and social circumstances.The Vice-Chancellor noted the increasing enrollment of younger learners into the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system, describing it as an evolution of the university\u2019s mission rather than a departure from its founding vision. Calling for unity among the governing council, management, staff, students, alumni and partners, Uduma emphasised the need to balance flexibility with discipline and innovation with academic integrity. He urged the university community to work collectively to sustain NOUN\u2019s credibility and global relevance.Uduma, a professor of philosophy and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the institution, is expected to serve a five-year term. His appointment was earlier announced on October 10, 2025, by Isa Yuguda, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council. In his valedictory speech, outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Olufemi Peters expressed gratitude to the NOUN Governing Council, Senate, principal officers and staff for their support throughout his tenure.\u201cI am profoundly grateful to God Almighty for raising me when hope seemed lost. God has been good to Femi Peters,\u201d he said.Peters commended Uduma for visiting various directorates, units and study centres during the transition period, noting that the engagements had prepared him to \u201chit the ground running.\u201d The highpoint of the ceremony was the formal presentation of handover documents, including the NOUN Act of 1983 as amended in 2018, the official seal of the university symbolising the authority of the Vice-Chancellor\u2019s office, the Senate gavel, and a red pen signifying executive authority.The event marked the official transfer of leadership at Nigeria\u2019s foremost open and distance learning institution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27888,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27886\/revisions\/27888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}