Brief History of the Department

The Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University Otuoke was created by the Senate of the University in February 2016 to run courses leading to the award of Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng) degree in Civil Engineering. It is one of the six (6) Departments in the Faculty of Engineering that commenced academic activities in the 2016/2017 session. Others established along with it are the Departments of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Petroleum/Gas Engineering. The pioneer students were admitted at the beginning of this session following a rigorous selection process.

After successful resource verification by the National Universities Commission (NUC), formal approval was granted to the University by the Commission to establish the Faculty of Engineering (FENG) and run these Engineering programs/departments. Owing to dearth of manpower, the new Departments did not have autonomous administrative Heads but were paired based on a formula that best guaranteed administrative convenience. Hence, in October 2016 three (3) departments were created through the pairing exercise, namely: Civil Engineering and Electrical/Electronic Engineering (with Dr. O. D. Itugha as Coordinator); Chemical Engineering and Petroleum/Gas Engineering; and, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering.

A total of seventy-seven (77) students were admitted into the Civil Engineering undergraduate degree program in this formative academic session.

During the 2020/21 academic session, precisely on 1st March 2021, the departments were de-merged to operate independently under the leadership of substantive Heads appointed for each of them. Thus, Civil Engineering became completely autonomous as a full-fledged Department with Engr. Prof. Samuel U. Ejezie (FNSE, FNICE, FNIGE) appointed as the first substantive Head of Department by Prof. T. C. Adias, who recently assumed duty as the third Vice Chancellor of the University. At this time the Department of Civil Engineering has grown in capacity to 328 students and already at the 400L. In April 2021, which was barely a month after the de-merging, the Department and its sister departments and programmes in the Faculty of Engineering were subjected to “Initial” NUC Accreditation Assessment. The result was excellent and far surpassed all expectations. The details showed that the Department of Civil Engineering did not only gain FULL Accreditation but set a very high-performance record which has never been attained by any department or programme in the University during previous accreditation exercises carried out since inception.  Under its present leadership, the Department is fully prepared and has left no stone unturned to ensure a repeat performance in the forthcoming COREN accreditation scheduled for January 2022.

The mission of the Department is to provide state-of-the-art resourceful education through teaching and research, programmed to impart soft skills, leadership qualities and professional ethics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This is with a view to building capacity to handle projects independently, and deal with contemporary issues locally and at the global level. The multidisciplinary nature of Civil Engineering is of great advantage here with attention focused on the specialized areas namely, Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Highway/Transportation Engineering, and Public Health/Environmental Engineering. The Department also aims at promoting a culture that values teamwork and collaboration among the diverse body of students and staff, with a view to contributing to nation building, through socio-economic emancipation of the people.

The Department of Civil Engineering boasts of seven (7) Laboratories including Structural/Material Engineering Lab, Mechanics of Fluids/Hydraulics Laboratory, Field Survey Practice Lab, Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Public Health and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, and Computer Aided Design (CADD) Laboratory. There is also a well-equipped mechanical engineering workshop comprising machine shop, sheet metal section, wood-work section, plant maintenance/automotive section and foundry section.

In the area of Awards and Prizes, the Department has come out tops in the Faculty of Engineering having produced the best CGPA’s and received the VC awards in the 2017/18 and 2018/2019 academic sessions. During the 2018/2019 academic session, three of our students were part of those who received the Dean of Engineering maiden cash awards. In addition, the results of the 2018/19 academic session show that three of the Civil Engineering students who have resumed at the 400, 300 and 200 levels in the 2019/2020 session had CGPAs of 4.81 (highest CGPA in Faculty of Engineering), 4.61 and 4.73 respectively.

The Department of Civil Engineering won the maiden VC’s Cup in the 2017/18 VC Football Tournament (see Photo inset), the first of its kind in the University. One of our students was awarded scholarship for being the highest goal scorer, and the Department Football Team was awarded fifty thousand naira (N50,000.00) which has been redeemed for the students in the 2018/19 academic semester. Also, one of our students won the FUO Most Influential Prize at the SUG level.

Students of the Department were part of the Faculty of Engineering Team that won several prizes at the NUESA annual convention held in Abuja in the 2018/19 academic session. FUO management was delighted and commended the Faculty for the good performance. It also appreciated them by doling out  the sum of 500,000 naira to them.

Overall, the Department has been outstanding in the areas of learning, sports, and character development. This is attributable to the highly motivated, goal oriented, and fore-sighted leadership which the department has been enjoying since its creation.

Staff list in the Department

S/No.

Name

Appointment

Area of Specialization

1

Dr. Adebola A. Adekunle

Tenure

Water Resources & Environmental Engineering

2

Dr. Okuroghoboye D. Itugha

Tenure

Engineering

3

Dr. Opololaoluwa O. Ogunlowo

Tenure

Environmental Engineering

4

Dr. Francis J. Ogbozige

Tenure

Water Resources & Environmental Engineering

5

Engr. Albam C. Obonna

Tenure

Highway & Transportation Engineering

6

Engr. Ayebaifiemiemi S. Dienagha

Tenure

Structures & Foundation Engineering

7

Engr. Somina Sopakirite

Tenure

Structures & Foundation Engineering

8

Engr. Arogo E. Charles

Tenure

Structures & Foundation Engineering

9

Engr. Churchill E. Simon

Tenure

Environmental Engineering

10

Engr. Righteous G. Damini

Tenure

Structures & Foundation Engineering

11

Mr. Akuha S. IORSHAGHER

Tenure

Civil Engineering

12

Engr. Prof. Samuel U. Ejezie

Contract

Geotechnical Engineering

13

Engr. Prof. Scott B. Akpila

Sabbatical

Geotechnical Engineering