Prof. Nnenna Oti: From Afikpo North to FUTO’s First Female Vice-Chancellor and Abia Returning Officer

From Afikpo North to Academic Leadership

Professor Nnenna Nnannaya Oti has built a career that spans several decades in academia, university administration and public service, rising from her roots in Afikpo North, Ebonyi State, to become the first female substantive Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State.

Oti, a professor of Soil Science and Environmental Conservation, was born in Afikpo North and has spent much of her professional career at FUTO, where she rose through several academic and administrative positions before emerging as the university’s Vice-Chancellor in 2021.

Before becoming Vice-Chancellor, Oti had already established a lengthy record of service at FUTO.

BusinessDay reported that she transferred her services from the University of Nigeria to FUTO about three decades before becoming Vice-Chancellor. During her years at the institution, she served three times as Head of the Department of Soil Science and Technology and spent four years as Dean of the Postgraduate School.

Her administrative experience also included serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, as well as participating in Senate, Council and various university committees.

Oti was announced as FUTO’s Vice-Chancellor-elect in April 2021 after emerging ahead of other candidates in the university’s selection process.

She scored 75.5 points in the selection process, according to reports at the time, and was subsequently appointed to succeed Professor Francis Chukwuemeka Eze. She formally assumed office in June 2021.

Her appointment marked a milestone in FUTO’s history as she became the institution’s first female substantive Vice-Chancellor.

Her academic career was also backed by extensive training. Reports show that she obtained a first-class degree in Soil Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, followed by postgraduate studies and eventually a PhD in Soil and Environmental Conservation from FUTO.

Beyond the university environment, Professor Oti became widely known nationally following her appointment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the Returning Officer for the March 18, 2023 Abia State governorship election.

The assignment was separate from her responsibilities as FUTO Vice-Chancellor.

During the final collation of results, Oti publicly stated that she would uphold the voters' mandate and democratic principles. The collation had been suspended amid disputes surrounding results from Obingwa Local Government Area before eventually resuming in Umuahia.

Oti later said she had faced threats, intimidation and offers of financial inducement during the electoral process, alleging that attempts were made to pressure her into manipulating the results. Those statements were her account of events surrounding the election.

INEC ultimately declared Labour Party candidate Alex Otti winner of the election with 175,467 votes, ahead of PDP candidate Okey Ahiwe, who scored 88,529 votes, and YPP candidate Enyinnaya Nwafor, who polled 28,972 votes.

Oti's career therefore extends beyond the title of Vice-Chancellor.

Her record includes teaching and research in soil science, leadership of academic departments, postgraduate administration, university-wide management and service on institutional committees. She also took on the nationally visible INEC assignment in 2023 while serving as FUTO Vice-Chancellor.

Her journey from Afikpo North to the leadership of one of Nigeria’s federal universities places her among academics whose careers have combined scholarship with institutional administration and public responsibilities.

Professor Nnenna Oti’s profile is notable not simply because she became FUTO’s first female substantive Vice-Chancellor, but because the appointment came after years of progression through the university’s academic and administrative structures.

From Head of Department to Dean of Postgraduate School, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and ultimately Vice-Chancellor, her career at FUTO reflects a long trajectory within the institution before reaching its highest executive academic office.

Her 2023 appointment as Abia State Returning Officer added another dimension to that career, placing a university administrator at the centre of one of the most closely watched governorship elections in the South-East during the 2023 general elections.