National Open University Of Nigeria Gets New VC |The Source

By Ayodele Oni

Professor Olufemi A. Peters, on Thursday assumed office as the fifth Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

A statement by the director of media and publicity of NOUN, Ibrahim Sheme explained that Peters succeeds Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, whose five-year tenure ended on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

In a brief handover ceremony held at the university’s headquarters in Abuja, Peters, who was elected the Vice-Chancellor on December 3, 2020, described his predecessor as a man whose tenure would always be reckoned with in the annals of the university.

In an acceptance speech, Peters, a Professor of Chemistry, said, “Professor Adamu’s tenure will be enduring and we shall have cause to make reference now and then to the tenure of Abdalla Uba Adamu.

“It has been a wonderful journey for Professor Abdalla, and it has ended in a very remarkable way. I want to thank God for him and all he has done for NOUN.”

Earlier, in his farewell remarks, Adamu had thanked the Almighty God who entrusted him with the leadership of the University and the ability to see-off the tenure successfully.

He described the past five years as “extremely intense” which, nevertheless, allowed him the opportunity to contribute towards “widening access to higher mass education for the people of Nigeria.”

“I leave NOUN with fond memories of five years of a chunk of my life. In these five years, I have been in situations where I have thought it is really special that I am getting to experience this.

“These situations, of challenge and requiring fortitude, represented what I have truly appreciated about the job. These defining moments included processes that gave the university its soul.”

Adamu, a double Professor of Science Education and Media and Cultural Communication, said his tenure had recorded some listless achievements that improved on the image of the university and thanked the Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Peter Okebukola, and the Principal officers, whom he described as his “Dream Team” that supported him in discharging the responsibility.

“I believe I leave the university well-positioned to meet the opportunities and challenges of being a national and international leader in African and global Open and Distance Learning in the 21st Century,” he added.