…. As Barr. Philomena Iwara Okoye Signs Off As The Registrar of Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
By Bright Anyanwu
According to the words of Ecclesiastes, there is time for everything on earth, a time to sign up and a time to sign off.
Precisely, on Friday, April 5th, 2019, the 7th Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, led by Alhaji Azeez Oladotun Bello (Late) announced Barr. Philomena Iwara Okoye as the 6th Substantive Registrar of the University (The University of the Moment). She signed up the appointment with a mantra of change encapsulated in her Policy of 3Rs (Restoration, Revamping and Revitalization) for the Registry. Barr. Philo as she is fondly called by her close acquaintances immediately hit the ground running after her appointment to make an indelible mark.
Her tenure witnessed the full implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in the university system with its attendant challenges coupled with the vagaries effects of the Long University Workers’ Strike and COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown, yet, she matched on as a trojan delivering impeccable achievements for posterity to reckon with.
Calmness, compassion, attentiveness, transparency, humanness, patience, teachability and a high sense of probity aptly summarized her personality as the Registrar of the University. Indeed, she came, she saw and she conquered, signing off on a high note with many beautiful feathers in her cap.
As the Registrar, Barr. Philo worked very hard to leave the Registry better than she met it. Her Policy, in tandem with the Project200 Policy of her Principal, Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone (FAS, FPSN) revolutionized the Registry.
During her tenure, she struck up a wonderful partnership with Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators (ANUPA) to skill up Professional Administrators. The platform provided an avenue for Registry Staff to learn, unlearn and relearn. With her strong advocate to University Authority, many Professional Administrators got sponsored for ANUPA workshops and conferences. Many also benefited from NEEDS Assessment sponsorship. Notably, on 4th April, 2024 holds a Maiden Registry Lecture in the University, an honor to her tenure.
Remarkably, her tenure as the Registrar birthed the new Staff Conditions of Service (SCS) with an improved welfare benefits for staff. The star point of the SCS was the documentation of additional career step to non-teaching staff, an achievement not practicable in many universities. The SCS equally made room for so many career paths yet untapped, an instrument for staff recruitment and development in the future.
With her mastery of applications of the University laws, she worked assiduously to create so many responsibility posts in the University to ensure that promotion to the rank of Deputy Registrar would hardly be tied to available positions. In her tenure, no staff was denied promotion for lack of space. She also ensured that staff (teaching and non-teaching) get their promotions as and when due.
The College Statute for Nnewi Campus was implemented in her tenure. The inauguration of the College Board activated the Office of the College Secretary which is the Registrar’s Rep in the College Board, Academic Assembly and Staff Assembly. The office working in tandem with the Registrar has helped to put the College in a global map. This has further profiled the visibility of the University, and aided the actualization of Project200 Policy. Currently, the University is ranked 4th in Sub-Sahara Africa according to Times Higher Education (2023).
She also reformed the Registry by strengthening its capacity and deliverables. Today, many Registry functions are digitalized, for example, the students’ academic transcript, staff online annual appraisal under the Central Information Referencing and Management System (CIRMS) and others.
Barr. Philo ran an open door policy. She was not officious but easily accessible by staff and students and she was always willing to help out based on her capacity. She made no enemy but won so many admirers. Her tenure had an aura of peace, and she was a very peaceful person.
The Registrar was able to raise able and intelligent lieutenants who are capable to hold their arts and to sustain her legacies. The sustainability of the Registry is fully assured.
As she signs off healthily on Friday, April 5th, 2024, I wish her fruitfull engagements ahead. The reward for a hardwork is more work.
Congratulations 👏🎉 to An Exceptional Professional Administrator,
A mentor,
A Gem,
A Paragon,
A Quintessence,
A Jewel and the Doyenne of University Administration.
Barr. Philo really made us proud.
A salute indeed!🫡
God bless UNIZIK!
Bright Anyanwu is Deputy Registrar II/College Secretary, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus.
bo.anyanwu@unizik.edu.ng
