The trio of Engineer Kayode Sunday Odedina, Mr. John Mairafi Ahmadu and Mr. Sunday Bassey Essien have been assigned portfolios, following their recent elevations as Directors respectively, by the Board of the National Universities Commission at its 94th Statutory meeting of 25th March, 2021, sequel their recommendations by the Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL.
Their separate letters of appointment signed by the Executive Secretary reads inter alia, “The appointment is in recognition of your performance, loyalty, commitment to duty and high sense of responsibility.
“While congratulating you on the appointment, I look forward to your continued, efficient and dedicated service in the collective effort at moving the Nigerian University System forward.” He said.
In the letter of assignment, Engineer Odedina is to take charge of the Directorate of Open Distance and e-learning (DODeL); while Mr. Mairafi oversees the Directorate of Executive Secretary’s Office (DESO), Mr. Essien is the Director of Students, (DoS).
The release signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration, Mr. Chris J. Maiyaki, declared that their positing takes effect from 1stJuly, 2021.
The directive further indicates that three others would retain their existing positions in acting capacity. Those in this category are: Mr. Lawal Mohammed Faruk, Acting Director, Research, Innovation and Information Technology (DRIIT); Mr. Ashafa Ladan, Acting Director, Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE) as well as Mrs. Lydia T.K. Imorua, Acting Director, Inspection and Monitoring, (DIM).
— Profile of Engr. Odedina
Engr. Kayode Odedina holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro in Electrical Engineering (Electronics Option) with Upper Credit in 1985 and later obtained an M. Eng. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (with specialisation in Telecommunication Systems Engineering) of Anambra State University of Technology, Enugu in 1991.
He also possesses an MBA in Technology Policy and Management of Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye in the year 2000 and a B.Sc. Degree in Information Technology of the National Open University of Nigeria as well as a Diploma in Management of Higher Education Institutes at the Galilee International Management Institute, Israel.
He had a brief stint in some agencies, starting with Ogun State Television Corporation (OGTV), Abeokuta, in 1990 as Broadcast Engineer and later joined the services of the National Universities Commission in April 2002 as an Assistant Chief Hardware Engineer.
He rose through the ranks to become Deputy Director, ICT in January 1, 2010 and was appointed the Acting Director of the Directorate of Open, Distance and e-Learning in March, 2020.
In the course of his career, Engr. Kayode Odedina held vendor specific ICT certifications such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associates (CCNA), among others.
…. Profile of Mr. Essien
Sunday Bassey Essien graduated from the University of Calabar with a (B.Sc) Political Science) in 1989 and later obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Jos in 2010.
He joined the services of the NUC in 1991 as Personnel Officer ll, in the then Department of Personnel Management. While in the Personnel unit, he gained vast experience, traversing the various administrative departments and units. By dint of hard work, he was promoted to the rank of Personnel Officer 1, which he occupied between Jan 1996-Jan 1998. His responsibilities included coordination of administrative activities in the Department of Physical Planning as well as hiring of houses for NUC staff and allocation of houses and settlement of utility bills on behalf of the Commission.
In the course of this duty, he received extensive specialized trainings relevant to the performance of his core duties such as in areas of Team Building for Peak Performance, Basic Human Resources Management and Manpower Planning.
He is an Associate member of the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. Mr. Essien was born at Ididep in IbionoIbom LGA of Akwa Ibom State on 24 October, 1962 and blessed with children.
Monday Bulletin wishes the new Directors success in their new assignments.