December 10, (THEWILL) – The former Vice Chancellor of Niger Delta University, late Professor Samuel Gowon Edoumiekumo, was on Friday, December 8, 2023, laid to rest in his country home Toru Angiama in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Edoumiekumo, who is also the immediate past Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, was Born on Monday, April 30, 1970, in Toru Angiama Community area of Bayelsa to the family of Mr. Edoumiekumo Bileke of Bileke family.
He had his Primary School leaving certificate in 1982 at Akendenowei Primary School Toru Angiama and Ajeromi Ifelodun High School, Apapa, Lagos, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1988.
Late Edoumiekumo graduated from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics, a PGD Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Monetary Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2011 and second PhD in Development Economics from University of Port Harcourt in 2014.
He was among the pioneer lecturers after the establishment of Niger Delta University, Amassoma Bayelsa State as an assistant lecturer, rising through the ranks to the position of Senior Lecturer. He was appointed as acting VC in 2017 and as the fourth substantive Vice Chancellor of the University in 2018 till 2023 when his time elapsed and died on October 27, 2023. He was a recipient of several awards.
Speaking during the burial ceremony in Toru Angiama, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, who was represented by the Commissioner of Agriculture, David Alagoa, described the late VC as an erudite scholar, who succeeded in every area of his endeavours while alive.
Alagoa, who led a government delegation to the arena, said the Late Prof. Edoumiekumo was a unique and energetic man who believed in hard work. “He was one of the best Bayelsans in the academic world; he repositioned Niger Delta University to an enviable height amongst Universities in Nigeria.
“His loss will be felt in not only Bayelsa but in Niger and Nigeria as a whole. He has done his best. On behalf of the government and the people of Bayelsa, we extend our condolences to the family and the community,” he said.
In his sermon, the State Overseer of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Delta North, Pastor Osabuyi Godwin, said a day will come when everyone will keep an appointment with death which no one will escape when the right comes.
Pastor Osabuyi, who titled his message, “Death an Appointment You Must Keep,” took his Bible portion from Hebrews 9 vs 27 and emphasised the need for every man to always be prepared because no one knows his or her time.
He spoke about the certainty of death, moral condition before death and the candid judgement of God, which he said no one will escape.
“Whatever we say about Samuel Gowon Edoumiekumo cannot change wherever he is. Everybody must prepare. Money cannot buy death and when it happens, it leaves us with sorrow, pain, sadness, and depression amongst others,” he said, using several Bible passages to buttress his point.
