Otoabasi Etim Akpan is a Nigerian biochemist and academic administrator, serving as Acting Vice Chancellor of Akwa Ibom State University.[1] He was appointed by the governing council of the school to succeed Nse Essien. Until his appointment, Akpan was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration). His appointment as the New Acting Vice Chancellor of the Akwa Ibom State University was confirmed on 2 August 2025, during the school's 40th council meeting[1]
Otoabasi Akpan was born on 15 June 1964 in Ikot Obio Atai, Itam, Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.[2] His parents were teachers. He attended Government Primary School Moniya in the former Western Region (now Oyo State) and completed his primary education in 1974. In 1979, he obtained his Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) from Lutheran High School, Obot Idim, Akwa Ibom State. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Calabar in 1984. Following graduation, Akpan joined the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme at the Advanced Teachers' Training College in Kafanchan, Southern Kaduna State, during 1984–1985. After completing his service, he enrolled at the University of Ibadan for a master's degree in History of Ideas.[2] He later obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1988. In 1989, he pursued a second master's degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Jos, completing the programme in under a year. He subsequently earned a PhD in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Port Harcourt in 2003.[2]
Career
Akpan's first professional appointment was as a research assistant to Jan George at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he worked from August 1986 to May 1987. On returning to Nigeria, he became Dean of Studies at Akpur College in Ikyurav-Shange Tiev, Gboku, Benue State.[2] Between January 1994 and April 1996, he worked as a research executive at Brains-Trust Research Consultants Incorporated in Lagos.[2] In February 1997, Akpan began his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Uyo.[2]
In 1998, he was involved in curriculum development when International Studies was added to the department's programme. He later joined Akwa Ibom State University in 2013 as Head of the Department of History and International Studies and subsequently became Dean of the Faculty of Arts.[3][4]
Akpan was the first to head the Directorate of International Collaborations and Linkages, where he coordinated academic partnerships with institutions such as the University of Innsbruck in Austria (2018), Temple University in Pennsylvania, United States (2018), and the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology in Guangzhou, China (2019). He served as Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences.[4] His administrative responsibilities extended to chairing both the Senate Curriculum Committee and the Academic Planning Committee. He later assumed the office of the fourth Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) and sat on the Governing Council of Akwa Ibom State University.[2] Beyond these appointments, Akpan undertook a sabbatical fellowship at the National Defence College in Abuja and held a visiting professorship at the University of Abuja Leadership Center.[5] He has also contributed to scholarship through publications in journals, books, and conference proceedings within Nigeria and abroad.[2]
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