JoSTUM gets new Vice Chancellor

Maryam Abeeb

The Governing Council of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi, JoSTUM, former Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi has appointed Prof. Isaac Itodo as the 7th Vice Chancellor of the institution.
An alumnus of the university, Prof. Itodo who would assume duties on April 17, 2023 succeeds Prof. Richard Kimbir, whose tenure as VC ended on November 19, 2022.
He will take over from Professor Paul Annune who has been acting in that capacity since November 2022.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Edith Uwajumogwu who announced the appointment in a statement at the weekend, said Prof. Itodo, a renowned agricultural engineer, is the first alumnus of the university to be appointed VC since the university was established in 1988.
She noted that the new VC emerged from a list of 16 after coming tops in a selection process adjudged open and credible.
Part of the statement read, “in the process, JoSTUM’s interest was put first. Nobody was under any pressure. We went for merit and took the best for the University to take its pride of place in the Nigerian university system.
“Itodo, 58, joined the services of the university in 1987. He rose through the ranks and was elevated to the rank of professor in 2003.
“He has served the university in various capacities, including Head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Dean of the College of Engineering and Director of Linkages.
“Itodo is an outstanding scholar, administrator and a good resource manager who will undoubtedly contribute to the university’s development.
“He is a scholar-practitioner who holds two patents, a National Productivity Award Winner, and a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering, amongst his numerous academic titles.”
Prof. Itodo would be the second non-Tiv Vice Chancellor of the University after Prof. Francis Idachaba who was the pioneer VC of the institution.