Prof. Celestine Afiukwa Appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike

The Governing Council of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, has confirmed the election of Professor Celestine Azubike Afiukwa, a distinguished scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology, as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of the university.

The confirmation was made at the Council’s 45th Regular Meeting held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, following his election by the University Senate at its 89th Emergency Meeting on September 18, 2025. Professor Afiukwa succeeds Professor Abel Ezeoha, whose tenure ended on September 5, 2025.

Academic Background

Professor Afiukwa holds a B.Sc. in Applied Biochemistry from Nnamdi Azikiwe University (1999), an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Ebonyi State University (2006), and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Biotechnology from Ebonyi State University (2011). He began his academic career as a Graduate Assistant in 2001 and rose through the ranks to become a Professor in 2019 before joining AE-FUNAI.

Academic and Administrative Leadership

At Ebonyi State University, Professor Afiukwa made significant contributions to academic and institutional growth, serving in several key leadership positions including:

• Director, Biotechnology Research & Development Centre (2016–2018)
• Head, Department of Biotechnology (2018–2021)
• Director, International Partnerships & Cooperation (2018–2023)
• Member, Project Management Team, European Union-funded Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Projects (GENES, MoBreed, GENES II, and ORPHAN)
• Member, Senate Committee on Examination Irregularities

Since joining AE-FUNAI, Professor Afiukwa has continued to demonstrate exemplary leadership, serving as:

• Head, Department of Biotechnology
• Member, Research Grants Committee
• Member, Inaugural/Public Lecture Committee
• Member, Central Admissions Committee
• Member, Matriculation Committee
• Dean, Faculty of Biological Sciences (immediately before his appointment as DVC)

Research, Grants, and International Recognition

Professor Afiukwa is a Commonwealth Academic Fellow (Kingston University, London, 2014) and a Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE) Visiting Fellow of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) (2015).

He has participated in numerous capacity-building programmes and international collaborations, including:

• Researcher Development Framework (RDF) workshops
• Developing the Next Generation of Researchers’ Workshop
• Train-the-Trainer Programme on Research Proposal Writing and Grant Management (TETFund, Dubai)
• Partnership for Enhanced and Blended Learning West Africa (PEBL-WA)
• Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Africa

He has won multiple TETFund and ACU-funded research grants—both as a principal investigator and as a team member—and continues to contribute to academic excellence through mentorship and research leadership.

Publications and Academic Contributions

Professor Afiukwa has published over 70 scholarly papers in both local and international journals, including 20 in Category A journals indexed by Clarivate Analytics, and authored two book chapters, one of which appears in a Springer Nature publication. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Biological Sciences and Molecular Research.

Personal Life

Afiukwa is widely respected as a dedicated teacher, mentor, and community leader who has supervised numerous postgraduate and undergraduate students. He is happily married and blessed with children.

His appointment as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) marks another chapter in AE-FUNAI’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and institutional growth.