At its 25th meeting held on Thursday, 25th August, 2022, the Governing Council of the Sokoto State University, Sokoto, approved the appointment of Prof. Mohammed Bello Yerima and Prof. Attahiru Ahmad Sifawa as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), respectively. Both appointments take immediate effect for a period of two years and are renewable for another two years and no more.
The appointment was disclosed in a statement issued by the Information Officer of the University, Zayyanu Shehu. The statement said the Council’s approval followed the endorsement of the Vice- Chancellor’s request by the Senate of the Institution.
Yerima, a Professor of Microbiology, hailed from Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto state. He is a graduate of Microbiology from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, 1994, and also holds a Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Applied Microbiology from the University of Jos.
Prof. Yerima taught at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto for eighteen (18) years and spent another nine (9) years teaching at the Federal University Dutse, Jigawa state, where he served as the pioneer Head of the Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, and subsequently transferred his service to Sokoto State University. He served on several committees at the departmental, faculty, and senate levels.
Prof. Yerima served as an external examiner and assessor to many universities in Nigeria. He had supervised thirty-two (32) MSc and Ph.D. students and has sixty one publications and more than ninety (90) conference/workshop papers to his credit.
He is the current National President of the Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN), as well as the President of the Nigerian Society for Microbiology (NSM) and also a fellow of the two societies. Before his appointment, Prof. Yerima was the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate School, Sokoto State University, Sokoto.
The statement further said that Prof. Sifawa hailed from Bodinga Local Government Council of Sokoto state. He is a holder of B. A (Ed) History, M. A and Ph.D. History, from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
He started his academic career at the Premier Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, where he rose to the rank of Lecturer I. Thereafter, he joined the services of Sokoto State University, Sokoto, in 2012, as Lecturer I, where he rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Social and Political History on October 1, 2020.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), authored two (2) books and co-authored one (1) book and eight (8) chapters in books. He also has several publications both in local and foreign journals, in addition to papers presented at seminars and conferences within and outside the country.
Prof. Sifawa served as Editor and Editor-in-Chief for different academic journals. He is also an External Examiner and Moderator of Bachelor’s Degree Programmes of the Department of History and Security Studies, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina, and the Department of History and War Studies, Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna.
The statement noted that Sifawa is a member of several professional organizations including the Historical Society of Nigeria, where he is the current Vice President (Northwest). He is a recipient of many awards, notably among them is Presidential Recognition Award of the Historical Society of Nigeria.
Before he was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Sifawa was serving his second tenure as Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sokoto State University, Sokoto.
The Council has similarly considered the promotion of two staff to the rank of professor and two others to Associate Professors, respectively.
The Governing Council also approved the recommendations of External Assessors as well as that of the Appointments and Promotions Committee (A&PC) to effect the promotions.
The newly promoted Professors are Dr. Ibrahim Nasiru Tambuwal (Science Education); and Dr. Umar Ubandawaki (Political Science).
The Associate Professors (Readers) are Dr. Ibrahim M. M. Fufuri (Library and Information Science: Administrative and User Services); and Dr. Bello Buhari (Arabic Morphology).
Prof. Tambuwal is the immediate past, Dean, Faculty of Education and Dean, Student Affairs, while Prof. Ubandawaki is the current Director, Development Office, and Head, Department of Political Science.
Similarly, Dr. Ibrahim M. M. Furfuri is the University Librarian and Dr. Bello Buhari lectures at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies.
The Council, while wishing the newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellors a successful tenure, it has equally urged the newly promoted staff to justify their elevation to the new ranks by continue rendering selfless service to the University, in particular, and humanity, in general.
