Ngozi Nma Odu (born 23 October 1952) is a Nigerian politician and professor of

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

who serves as the deputy governor of Rivers State. She was elected during the

2023 Rivers State gubernatorial election The 2023 Rivers State gubernatorial election will take place on 11 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Rivers State, concurrent with 2023 Rivers State House of Assembly election, elections to the Rivers State House of Assembly as well as twent ...

alongside the governor Siminalayi Fubara. She was born in Egi clan in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

Early life and education

Odu was born on the 23 October 1952, in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of

Rivers State, Nigeria Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

. She obtained her first degree in microbiology from

Paisley College of Technology , mottoeng = Learning is success , established = 1897 (as Paisley College of Technology) 1992 (granted university status) 2007 (renamed to UWS) , former_names = Paisley College of Technology, Paisley Co ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. While in Scotland, she received the Best Academic Prize for 2 consecutive years (1977 and 1978 respectively). She also holds a master's degree in Food Science and Management from the prestigious

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(Queen Elizabeth College, 1983). In 1989 she obtained a PhD in microbiology from the

University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...

that made her the first PhD graduate in that department. She also attended a Leadership course at the prestigious

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, USA in 2005.

Career

Odu rose through the ranks in the Rivers State Ministry of Health to the post of

permanent secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

from 1999 to 2006. In January 2006, Odu was appointed the Rivers State Commissioner of Education by the former governor of the state,

Peter Odili Peter Otunuya Odili (born 15 August 1948) was the third Governor of Rivers State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Odili is a member of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Background Peter Odili was born on 15 August 19 ...

. Odu served the University of Port Harcourt both as a lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and as the first Acting Executive Director of the University of Port Harcourt Foundation. She is also a visiting professor at Rivers State University. In June 2022, Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party nominated Odu as the deputy governorship candidate of the party in the

.{{Cite web , last=Obe , first=Emmanuel , date=2022-06-27 , title=Rivers People Hail Choice Of Odu As PDP Deputy Governorship Candidate , url=https://nationalpointdaily.com/rivers-people-hail-choice-of-odu-as-pdp-deputy-governorship-candidate/ , access-date=2023-04-26 , website=National Point Newspapers , language=en-US Before her election as deputy governor-elect, Odu was the Director of Academic Planning,

Pamo University of Medical Sciences PAMO University of Medical Sciences is a private medical university located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The university was established in 2017 as the first private medical university in Nigeria. PAMO University of Medical Sciences was founded by ...

, Rivers State.

References

Living people 1952 births Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party politicians Rivers State politicians Commissioners of ministries of Rivers State Academic staff of the University of Port Harcourt Alumni of the University of London Nigerian Christians Deputy Governors of Rivers State 21st-century Nigerian politicians Rivers State civil servants Women state deputy governors of Nigeria People from Ogba–Egbema–Ndoni

Early life and education

Career

See also

References