The University of Abuja has added 34 new professors to its ranks as well as announcing the appointment of a substantive registrar and librarian.
The Governing Council of the tertiary institution now known as Yakubu Gowon University, approved the promotion of the 34 academic staff to the professorial rank and the two principal officers.
A statement issued by the Acting Director, Information and University Relations, Dr Habib Yakoob, said 17 senior academics were elevated to the rank of professor, while 17 others were promoted to the rank of associate professor across a wide range of disciplines and areas of specialisation.
The promotions were ratified at the 101st Regular Meeting of the Governing Council under the leadership of its chairman, Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso, on Friday, 10 July and Saturday, 11 July 2026, following the consideration of favourable external assessment reports on the candidates’ scholarly publications.
The promoted academics cut across several fields, including community medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, religious studies, guidance and counselling, accounting, library and information science, business administration and physics.
Others are parasitology and entomology, physiology, crop science, educational foundations, and banking and finance.
The promotions take effect from October 2025.
Congratulating the newly promoted academics, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, said the promotions reflected the staff’s dedication to scholarship and academic excellence.
He said the university would continue to strengthen its internal processes to ensure the timely consideration of external assessment reports and the promotion of deserving academics in line with established guidelines.
According to Fawehinmi, “these promotions are not just about attaining a higher rank. They reflect our belief that hard work and dedication should be recognised and rewarded.
“I congratulate all those promoted and encourage them to see this as a call to even greater service to the University, their profession and society.”
The Governing Council also approved the appointment of Malam Alkasim Musa Umar as the institution’s substantive Registrar and Dr Rose Lade Mommoh as the substantive University Librarian.
Both officials will serve a single five-year tenure in line with the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act and the university’s governing regulations.
Fawehinmi, while congratulating the appointees, describing their emergence as timely and significant to the institution’s transformation agenda.
According to him, the appointments come “at a critical time in our journey as we continue to reposition the University of Abuja as a globally competitive institution.”
Malam Umar holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maiduguri.
He has also earned professional certifications from the Digital Bridge Institute and Souters, United Kingdom.
He had served as Faculty Officer for the Faculties of Education and Agriculture.
Before his appointment, Umar was Deputy Registrar and Head of the Institute of Education, where he supervised administrative operations, registry services, credentials screening and provided secretariat support to the institute’s management board.
On the other hand, Dr Mommoh holds a Bachelor of Library Science degree from the University of Maiduguri, a Master of Library Science from Bayero University, Kano, and a PhD in Information Science from the University of Maiduguri.
She joined the University of Abuja in 1999 as a Graduate Librarian and rose through the ranks to become Deputy University Librarian and Associate Professor in 2020.
With over 25 years of professional experience, she has established expertise in library administration, collection development, digital library services, research support and strategic information management.
She has held several leadership positions within the university library, including Head of the Circulation Unit, Collection Development and Readers’ Services at the Engineering Library.
Until her appointment, she served as Postgraduate Coordinator in the Department of Library and Information Science.
