The Senate of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, has elected the university’s former Head of the Directorate of Advancement, Professor Princewill Chukwudi Ogbonna, as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Research and Development (R&D).

Professor Ogbonna was elected from his current position as Dean, College of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (CNREM), during the university Senate’s 261st Regular Meeting held on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

His election is, however, subject to ratification by the University Governing Council for a two-year tenure. The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Comrade Fidelis Chukwunweike Edeh chair the council.

If ratified, Professor Ogbonna will succeed the university’s current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ursula Ngozi Akanwa, who previously held the office of DVC, Research and Development before she was appointed the institution’s seventh Vice-Chancellor in March 2026.

An alumnus of MOUAU, Professor Ogbonna has served the university in several strategic capacities, including Acting Director of the Directorate of University Advancement, Acting Head of Environmental Management and Toxicology, and Dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environmental Management.

With his emergence, the university’s principal officers now comprise three females and three males.

The female principal officers are the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ursula Ngozi Akanwa; the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Nneoma Elechi Obasi; and the Registrar, Dr Mrs Nkeiruka Charity Mbanasor.

The male principal officers are the Bursar, Chief Ugochukwu Ironkwe; the Librarian, Professor Isaac Ogbonna; and the newly elected Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development), Professor Princewill Ogbonna.