10 Sep
10Sep

His Excellency, Alh. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, Ph.D., FCNA, Governor of Sokoto State, has approved the appointment of Prof. Bello Mohammed Yerima as the Ag. Vice-Chancellor of Sokoto State University.The appointment is contained in a statement dated 23rd August 2024, signed and issued by Mal. Abubakar Bawa, Press Secretary to the Governor.Prof. Yerima's appointment follows the appointment of the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, MFR, as the new Vice-Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, by the University's Governing Council.Prof. Yerima Bello Mohammed was born on 21st August 1967 and hailed from Gigane Town in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State. He attended Magajin Rafi Primary School Tudun Wada Sokoto from 1976 to 1981. Thereafter, he was admitted into Giginya Memorial College, Sokoto from 1981 to 1983. After passing the Science exam successfully, he proceeded to Government College Sokoto (Now Nagarta College) from 1983 to 1986.He was admitted to the Matriculation Programme of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto in 1988. After the Programme, he was admitted into the B.Sc. Microbiology Programme and graduated in 1994. He was posted to Kogi State, where he served in the NYSC scheme at Government Secondary School, Okpo, in Olamaboro LGA.Prof. Yerima secured a job immediately after he completed his service year at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, where he started his academic career as a graduate Assistant in 1995 and rose through the ranks to become a Professor in 2016. He also obtained an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Applied Microbiology from the University of Jos in 2001 and 2012, respectively.He served UDUS for 18 years and moved to Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State in 2013. Again, out of patriotism, he came back to Sokoto State University to give his contribution to its growth. On assumption of duty, Prof. Yerima was appointed Deputy Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies, and, subsequently, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), the position he holds to date.Professor Yerima was the pioneer Head of the Department of Microbiology & Biotechnology at Federal University Dutse and served several Departmental, Faculty, Senate, and Council Committees either as Chairman or member.He served as the President of the Nigerian Society for Microbiology as well as the Biotechnology Society of Nigeria. He attended over one hundred Conferences, workshops, and expert meetings locally and internationally either as an active participant or keynote/Lead Speaker.Prof. Yerima also has to his credit over one hundred publications in reputable journals and Books. Due to this, in April 2024, his name appeared with other Nigerians in the top five hundred Scopus author ranking.Yerima is a Fellow of two professional Societies and a senior expert in a Continental project- “Using Genome Editing to Boost Agricultural Production in Africa.” The project is championed by the AUDA-NEPAD Centre of Excellence in Science and Technology, Johannesburg, South Africa.He is a member of BIT Life Sciences, China which is a global think tank on Science and Technology. His areas of research interest are Microbial Biotechnology and Public Health.