by Edentu Oroso, Publications Unit
The Vice-Chancellor of Federal University Otuoke, Professor Promise Mebine, has charted a new course for the University with the unveiling of a five-point strategic agenda aimed at accelerating its development, strengthening institutional growth, and ensuring sustainable progress throughout his tenure.
Professor Mebine disclosed this at the University’s 16th Congregation for academic and non-teaching staff, held on Monday, 29 June 2029, at the Professor Seth Accra-Jaja Postgraduate School Auditorium, West Campus.
He said the agenda rests on five pillars, namely, academic excellence, research and national development, innovation and entrepreneurship, driven by the envisioned FUO Innovation Hub, institutional sustainability and staff welfare, and community engagement and social transformation.
Together, he said, these priorities are designed to strengthen the University’s academic and research standing, deepen its innovation drive, secure its long-term sustainability, and extend its impact on host communities and the wider society.
Speaking at the 16th Congregation, the Chairman of the Congregation, Professor Mebine noted that the meeting ought to have held two weeks earlier but was postponed due to several official engagements. He added that, aside from touring the departments, faculties, centres and colleges on assumption of office, he had not previously met with the entire staff.
He further disclosed that at the 140th Senate Meeting, which marked the official transition from his predecessor, Professor Teddy Charles Adias, to him as the fourth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Otuoke, he had informed Senate members of his master plan, comprising five core action points.
According to Professor Mebine, the first of these is academic excellence across all programmes offered by the University. “I know that we’re doing our best, but we have to go the extra mile to make the curriculum reflect contemporary happenings,” he said. “There’s the need to align our programmes with global standards and local realities.”
“In these days of Artificial Intelligence,” he remarked, “I understand that students are writing their exams with their phones and AI. This trend is unacceptable and needs to change.”
Professor Mebine stated that his second focus, or leadership blueprint, is anchored on research and nation-building, spanning environmental sustainability, renewable energy, public health, and related concerns. “We should be thinking of the products we can get from our environment, rather than over-reliance on foreign consumables,” he emphasised. Collaboration with state and federal governments in this direction, he said, is a necessity: “We need collaborations, we need to talk about local industries… there’s a need for these things to be done in FUO as a productive hub. To do this, we need international partners to facilitate knowledge transfer in areas of need.”
He stressed the need for the FUO Innovative Hub, designed to support faculty members in accessing local and international grants, securing patent rights, and producing high-impact conference papers and journal articles in peer-reviewed publications.
Professor Mebine, a professor of Applied Mathematics and immediate past Director of the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, identified institutional sustainability as his third area of focus. He described it as a key component of university development, hinged on transparent and accountable leadership. According to him, diversifying funding towards productive initiatives, leveraging endowment rights, and adopting other eco-friendly practices are essential to positioning Federal University Otuoke as an environmentally sustainable institution.
Central to his fund diversification strategy, he noted, is the establishment of viable income-generating enterprises to boost internally generated revenue, alongside the benefits derivable from a green campus initiative.
Professor Mebine identified staff welfare, anchored on participatory governance, as the fourth item on his scale of preference. He stressed the need for an inclusive climate in which fairness, particularly adherence to due process, remains non-negotiable.
“I don’t want a situation where some people are unduly punished,” he said. “If you are due for promotion, you have to be promoted, as long as you have met all necessary criteria.”
In line with this, he directed the Bursar to ensure staffs promoted are placed correctly on the appropriate grade-level steps, noting that no one should be moved to a lesser income range as a result of administrative oversight. “This university is known as a family university,” he emphasised. “With a family, there are bound to be disagreements, but the means of resolving it is important.”
He underpinned the fact that the core values of staff are embodied in the core values of Federal University Otuoke, which are encapsulated in LIKES, standing for Learning, Integrity, Knowledge, Excellence, Service and Scholarship.
Professor Mebine listed community engagement and societal transformation as the fifth focus area, stressing its potential to drive meaningful development across the Niger Delta and the country at large.
He raised a pointed question about what he described as overreliance on Western influence and the wholesale adoption of foreign cultural norms: “Must we take everything from the West? Some of our students are walking about almost naked. It’s not a good thing. In Oman, they have just one federal university and every student is decently dressed.”
He further stressed the importance of preparing students to inherit leadership roles, noting: “We must train our students to take over from us. Whether we like it or not, these students are going to be wives of our sons and husbands of our daughters tomorrow. Let us stand up to own responsibilities. The failure of our country today is the failure of our families.”
Professor Mebine said management was working assiduously to address other critical areas, including the construction of additional hostels to reduce the university’s accommodation deficit. He also disclosed that his administration would promote greater access to both local and international research grants, while encouraging interdisciplinary research to broaden the scope and impact of scholarship.
He, however, charged Deans of Faculties and Directors of Centres to uphold academic standards, warning against the indiscriminate award of degrees. According to him, students must earn their degrees through hard work and academic commitment.
Mebine concluded his address with a clear statement of intent: “My ambition is to reposition FUO, driven by vision through collective effort.”
The Congregation’s representative on the Governing Council (Academic), Professor Juliet Bodisere Teibowei, expressed appreciation to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Promise Mebine, for his impressive five-point agenda for Federal University Otuoke. She commended the Vice-Chancellor for his responsiveness to the concerns of the Congregation, noting that requests brought before Council had been given prompt attention and that the welfare and interests of staff were well represented in the Council’s deliberations.
In his response, Professor Mebine explained that, upon assuming office as Vice-Chancellor, his initial engagements were with the principal officers of the University, followed by meetings with leaders of the host community, as part of his familiarisation with the University and its immediate environment.
On the issue of security within the University and Otuoke generally, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that he had engaged the Honourable Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State, to discuss the security situation. He noted, however, that he was informed that the establishment of a police post in Otuoke required the approval of the Inspector-General of Police. He further stated that he had also discussed the matter with the former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as part of efforts to strengthen security in the University community and Otuoke.
Professor Mebine informed the Congregation that TETFund-sponsored training programmes for both teaching and non-teaching staff were ongoing at the University. He also disclosed that he had engaged the University’s ICT consultant, Cinforest, on modalities for training FUO personnel to assume responsibility for the University’s ICT operations upon the expiration of the consultant’s tenure.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that some avoidable anomalies had been observed in students’ results, stressing the need for enhanced ICT capacity among staff to identify and address such issues effectively.
On transportation, Professor Mebine disclosed that he had engaged the leadership of the Otuoke Branch of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to negotiate a reduction in transportation fares between Yenagoa and Otuoke. He added that discussions had also been held with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on the need for its officials to maintain a visible presence at the entrance of the University to facilitate traffic management and ease the daily congestion.
He further stated that he had engaged the leadership of the Okada riders’ union on the relocation of motorcycle operators from the University entrance as part of measures to decongest the area and improve the free flow of traffic.
Professor Mebine also announced that the Professorial Building of the Faculty of Humanities had been formally handed over to the Faculty. He cautioned staff against assigning their official duties to persons who are not members of staff, warning that such practice would attract serious disciplinary consequences. He stated emphatically, “If I see it, I’ll terminate that person’s appointment on the spot.”
On campus security, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that surveillance cameras had been installed and were operational across both the East and West Campuses, including the Administrative Block. He consequently urged staff and students to conduct themselves responsibly and be mindful of their actions on University premises, noting that activities within the monitored areas were subject to surveillance.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mebine, used the occasion to address some pressing concerns affecting members of staff.
The Scribe of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Lawrence Akpama, drew attention to the issue of placement on salary steps following staff promotion. He noted that, while the practice under the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) had been to place promoted staff on Step 2 of the new grade level, the practice had recently reverted to Step 1. He appealed to Management to adopt the convention applicable in other Federal tertiary institutions, whereby staff promoted to a higher grade level is placed on Step 2.
Comrade Akpama also drew the attention of the Congregation to the statutory composition of the principal officers of the University. He noted that, under the extant laws, the recognised principal officers are the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, University Librarian and Bursar, and expressed concern about the inclusion of the three Deputy Vice-Chancellors—Academic, Administration, and Research and Development—as principal officers in the structure of FUO.
The Chairman of FUO SSANU, Comrade Ake Oye, appealed to the Bursar and Management for the payment of the outstanding arrears arising from the 25%/35% salary increment announced by the Federal Government in 2025. He stated that his counterparts in the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), and other Federal institutions had received up to 12 months’ arrears. He therefore appealed to Management to consider using the University’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to offset the outstanding arrears.
Comrade Oye further reiterated the need for a comprehensive review of the Staff Handbook, commonly referred to as the Green Book. In particular, he called for the discontinuation of written tests as part of the annual appraisal process for staff on Grade Levels 6 to 13, while retaining the requirement for staff on Grade Level 14 and above.
He also advocated for a clear career progression pathway for administrative staff, urging the University to abolish the Directorate system introduced at FUO and instead provide a direct progression route to the position of Director. He explained that this would ensure that administrative staff can attain the pinnacle of their respective careers. For instance, he proposed that Registry staff should be able to progress to the position of Senior Deputy Registrar, noting that the position of Registrar can only be occupied by one person at a time.
He further decried what he described as the encroachment of teaching staff into positions designated for non-teaching staff, as clearly stipulated in the University’s Green Book. He stressed that teaching staff should remain focused on their core responsibilities of teaching, research and community service, while Directorate positions should primarily serve as the career pathway for non-teaching staff.
Citing the Public Relations cadre as an example, he noted that such positions constitute part of the Directorate structure and should therefore remain within the professional domain of non-teaching staff.
Comrade Oye appealed to Management to provide accommodation for staff and requested the procurement of two additional buses to help alleviate the transportation challenges faced by staff.
The Congregation’s representative on the Governing Council (Administration), Comrade Kalizibe Joseph, welcomed the Chairman, Professor Promise Mebine, to his maiden Congregation meeting with staff. He, however, used the occasion to raise concerns regarding the interpretation and circulation of the University’s Green Book.
Comrade Joseph noted that there were different versions of the Green Book in circulation, observing that the version currently being circulated designates the Deputy Vice-Chancellors as Principal Officers of the University. He clarified that, under the provisions discussed during the review process, the Deputy Vice-Chancellors were not listed as Principal Officers, while the Director of Works and the Medical Director were similarly not designated as such.
Speaking from his experience as a member of the Governing Council and the Green Book Review Committee, Comrade Joseph stressed that there was no point during the review process when the Deputy Vice-Chancellors were identified as Principal Officers of the University. He therefore urged the Vice Chancellor to examine the discrepancies among the different versions of the document and ensure that the appropriate version is adopted.
On staff remuneration, Comrade Joseph also drew attention to what he described as an anomaly in the University’s lateral conversion process. He observed that, rather than resulting in the expected improvement in salary placement, some staff appeared to experience a reduction in their salaries following lateral conversion. He appealed to the Vice Chancellor to investigate the matter and take appropriate steps to address the anomaly.
Other concerns raised by staff included the disparity in the treatment of B.Sc. and HND holders, particularly among technologists under the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Education Institutions, NAAT, where staff who possess B.Sc. degrees are reportedly treated as HND holders. Staff also expressed concern over the deplorable condition of some university buildings, several of which are in a state of disrepair and at risk of collapse.
Other issues highlighted were the lack of ambulances at the FUO Medical Centre; inadequate examination halls, resulting in overcrowding during examinations; and the reversal of the policy permitting deferment of admission after the payment of tuition fees. Staff further appealed to the University Management to facilitate their access to benefits accruing from monthly deductions under the National Housing Fund (NHF), as enjoyed by employees of other establishments.
The issue of inadequate water supply across the Faculties was also raised, particularly in view of the Vice-Chancellor’s emphasis on maintaining cleanliness and a hygienic environment across the campus.
Professor Akpan responded to the issue concerning the status of Principal Officers raised by Comrade Kalize Joseph, citing the Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2022. He clarified that the Act expressly recognises Deputy Vice-Chancellors as Principal Officers of the University.
He appealed to the Registry to overhaul its annual appraisal process, noting that “the world has been digitalised, so the appraisal process should follow that trajectory for ease of action.” He further drew Management’s attention to the need for additional classrooms and a laboratory for the Accounting Department. He also highlighted the need for an updated university inventory and improved power supply at the East Campus.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Promise Mebine, sought clarification from the Bursar on the application of promotion increments. In response, the Bursar, Dr. Preteowei Topman Suwari, explained that the applicable public service regulations provide that an officer should ordinarily be placed on the salary step immediately above the officer’s current point of placement. Professor Mebine further clarified that a promotion increment translates to a salary placement above the step held prior to promotion.
On the issue of Principal Officers, Professor Mebine explained that the appointment of Principal Officers is a prerogative of the Governing Council and does not rest solely with the Vice Chancellor.
The Vice Chancellor also requested clarification from the Bursar on the payment of the outstanding 12-month arrears arising from the 25/35 per cent salary increment. Dr. Suwari disclosed that the outstanding liability amounts to over ₦900 million, noting that the University’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, is currently insufficient to offset the backlog.
The Registrar, Mrs. Andabi Benita Amangi-Edomo, further clarified, on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, the issue of written tests as part of the promotion exercise. She explained that the promotion process initially did not include written examinations. However, the current requirement for a 30 per cent score in the written test complements the 70 per cent score obtained through the Appointment and Promotion Appraisal, APA, form. She added that the matter would be reviewed subsequently through the appropriate appeal process.
Mrs. Amangi-Edomo explained that a 25 Marchc, 2026 memorandum from the Federal Ministry of Education clarified the status of the Directorate cadre, noting that Directors are appointed at Grade Level 15 rather than promoted to the position.
Professor Mebine also addressed the concern regarding the alleged usurpation of positions designated for non-teaching staff by teaching staff appointed as Directors. He explained that practices vary across universities, citing the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, where the ICT Unit is headed by academic staff. He stressed that while some universities place such units under academic staff, others assign them to non-teaching staff, depending on their respective administrative structures.
He assured the Congregation that the Green Book would be reviewed in accordance with due process. To this end, he directed the Registrar to formally write to the Governing Council, seeking approval for the establishment of a Review Committee to undertake the review.
On the FUO Medical Centre, the Vice Chancellor acknowledged that both the available facilities and staffing levels were inadequate. He, however, disclosed that the Federal Government’s 2026 NEEDS Assessment initiative is expected to provide the Centre with the necessary upgrade and improve its facilities and capacity. He further disclosed that the Centre has an ambulance, but stressed the need to engage Health Maintenance Organisation, HMO, vendors to enhance access to healthcare services. He also emphasised the need to provide First Aid kits at the Medical Centre and in the offices of Deans, Heads of Departments (HoDs), and other relevant units across the University.
Addressing the concern over the disparity between BSc and HND qualifications and the progression of staff, the Vice Chancellor explained that the existing arrangement was in line with the stipulated rules of engagement. He clarified that an officer on Grade Level 11 would progress to Grade Level 13, thereby skipping Grade Level 12, in accordance with the applicable provisions. He consequently requested the leadership of the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, to provide relevant documentation to substantiate its position and facilitate its consideration and possible approval by the Governing Council.
Responding to the issue of deferred admissions after payments of school fees, Professor Mebine pointed at that the deferments were for 100 level students, but deferred for two levels would have to pay twice.
Professor Mebine noted that the monthly deductions under the National Housing Fund, NHF, affect all staff across the board, including himself. He therefore welcomed any initiative that could facilitate and fast-track the processing and delivery of NHF benefits to staff.
He also acknowledged the realities of the digital age, stressing the need for the University’s annual staff appraisal process to reflect contemporary administrative practices. He noted that some institutions now assess staff indices and scholarly publications, including the quality and visibility of their articles online. He therefore advocated for the adoption of similar digital practices at FUO Registry to enhance efficiency, transparency and administrative convenience.
The 16th Congregation which held on Monday, 29 June 2029, at the Professor Seth Accra-Jaja Postgraduate School Auditorium, West Campus, was well attended by both teaching and non-teaching staff, who commended the Vice Chancellor’s five-point blueprint for the development of Federal University Otuoke (FUO). Members also applauded the sense of purpose, dynamism, and enthusiasm with which the Vice Chancellor approached the administration of the University, particularly in advancing his core mandates and driving the institution towards greater growth and development.
