The Governing Council of the Sokoto State University, Sokoto, has approved the appointment of Professors Mohammed Bello Yerima and Attahiru Ahmad Sifawa as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), respectively.
In a statement Thursday, the institution’s Information Officer, Zayyanu Shehu, disclosed that the Governing Council approved the appointments at its 25th meeting held on Thursday, 25th August, 2022.
Sifawa added that the 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 1994 graduate of Microbiology from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in Applied Microbiology from the University of Jos.
Prof. Yerima taught at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, for 18 years and spent another nine 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.
Yerima served as an external examiner and assessor to many universities in Nigeria.
He had supervised 32 MSc and PhD students and has 61 publications and more than 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, Yerima was the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate School, Sokoto State University, Sokoto.
The statement further said that Prof. Sifawa hailed from Bodinga Government Area of Sokoto State. He holds a B.A. (Ed) in History and M.A. and PhD in 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) has authored two books and co-authored one book and eight 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.
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 organisations, including the Historical Society of Nigeria, where he is the current Vice President (North-west).
He is a recipient of many awards, among them the Presidential Recognition Award of the Historical Society of Nigeria.
Before he was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Sifawa was serving his second tenure as the 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.
It 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 teaches at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies.
The council, while wishing the newly appointed deputy vice-chancellors a successful tenure, equally urged the newly promoted staff to justify their elevation to the new ranks by continuing to render selfless service to the university in particular, and humanity in general.
