Abia State Federal University
Currently, there is only one Federal University In Abia state. The Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, originally the Federal University of Agriculture, is a federal university in Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria. It was established as a specialized University by a Federal Government of Nigeria Decree No 48 of November 1992.
It began formal activities on May 1993 with the appointment of the first Council and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Placid C. Njoku on 27th May 1993, while other key officials of the University were appointed later. Prof. Francis Ogbonnaya Otunta, a distinguished Professor of Mathematics is the 5th and present Vice-Chancellor of the University. He assumed office on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
The Institution is located in the well-known Agricultural Training and Research town of Umudike, about 9 kilometres from Umuahia town, the capital of Abia State. The major link road to the University is the Umuahia – Ikot Ekpene Federal Road, a direct route to the State capitals of Abia, Akwa – Ibom and Cross River. Being close to Umuahia, the University is linked through a major North-South Express Road to most parts of the country. It commenced its activities at the premises of the former Federal College of Agriculture, Umudike (At present the Federal College of Agriculture has been moved to Ishiagu, Ebonyi state).
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, is envisioned to be a University par excellence and hopes to help the peoples of Nigeria and beyond through the provision of practical knowledge for agricultural transformation in order to achieve sustainable food production.
The first set of students were admitted into the institution during the 1993/94 academic year with a student population of 82. It is the intention of the University to gradually increase the number of students matching her intake with her available resources.
One of the responsibilities of a University is to impart understanding of the processes that govern human experience. Therefore the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike as a specialized tertiary institution, will impart understanding of the processes that relate to the biophysical, biochemical and socioeconomic components of the environment, and how these processes can be harnessed for the production of food and fibre to meet human needs without the degradation of the natural environment. It is the plan of the University to serve the people of Nigeria and the world through education, manpower development and quality research aimed at the development of technologies that will overcome major constraints to agricultural production. This, the University does through a range of activities carried out in its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Prospect for Academic Development
The University is generously endowed with highly qualified manpower and the major resource for agricultural development – Land. It, therefore, has unlimited scope for development to achieve its vision of Knowledge, Food and Security. The University has expansive land in Umudike as well as in Uzuakoli, Olokoro and Ibeku. Recognizing the University’s cordial relationship with her surrounding communities as well as her local farmer -oriented programmes, the prospect for acquiring more land is unlimited since these communities are willing to donate more land for development and research.