Vice Chancellor of Amadeus University Professor Samuel Nzotta recently announced that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted approval to the institution to teach Law, Medicine & Surgery, and Pharmacy, while hinting Agriculture would be next in its course content. He explains the reasons behind the fast pace progress of the university less than two years of inception. Nduka Nwosu reports:
Just recently the Amadeus University founder Dr. Godwin Nwabunka, and top members of the institution were busy putting finishing touches aimed at presenting to the National Universities Commission (NUC) its readiness to be granted approval to teach Law, Medicine & Surgery, and Pharmacy starting with the 2025/2026 session. That sense of readiness produced the right result.
According to the Vice Chancellor Professor Samuel Nzotta, the approval was granted by the NUC after a careful examination of the material and human resources needed to run the programmes.
“As a result of this development,” Nzotta stressed, “admissions have commenced in the university, into two of the programmes viz MBBS (Medicine & Surgery) and Doctor of Pharmacy (D. Pharm).
“To secure admission, candidates must have obtained JAMB scores of 200 and above and 180 for D. Pharm.(Pharmacy). This is in addition to the relevant credit passes in various subjects at SSCE and NECO.”
admission through the JAMB CAPS and Nzotta advised interested candidates to apply for change the choice of university and course of study. The Vice Chancellor said admissions are on going for 19 other courses offered in the university as shown in the university portal.
He also asked candidates applying for admission to note that admissions will end November 30, 2025.
The university, which was opened by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in February this year, will be matriculating its new 100 Level students in February. 2026.
That tells how much the university has gone to fulfill its promise of consolidating its course content and delivery of the 19 courses it kick started with at inception while advising intending candidates to visit the university portal on what is needed to secure admission into the institution.
At the opening ceremony, it was certified to have some of the best brains in each subject it is offering with globally accepted teaching facilities and a campus that is visually appealing for learning, comparing favourably with some of the best in the country and elsewhere in the world. Earlier, Nzotta had informed the world that its current medical facilities were among the best a university could offer referring to its medical centre as very well equipped and that one would be amazed at what was going on there.
He did not fail to add that “at the appropriate time we envisage that we shall expand our medical facilities to a full state of the art Teaching Hospital to complement the future Amadeus University College of Medicine. Our graduates will be job creators rather than job seekers carrying envelopes everywhere.
“We are practically oriented with a high level of entrepreneurial culture. Amadeus is
offering all the opportunities a student needs for self-development and self-actualisation so as to become useful to society once out of the confines of the classroom.
“We just want to tell our prospective students and stakeholders that something amazing is happening here at Amadeus University. It is amazing in the sense that we shall be grooming graduates who would come out to be globally competitive and very knowledgeable to contend with the demands of economic development in
Nigeria.
Nzotta’s peg was two years during which time he was optimistic the said faculties would meet future requirements in the Amadeus list of its hierarchy of needs. As he put it, the emphasis has been on the future developmental intentions. According to him: “On campus, innovation is a daily reality. From modern laboratories, Computer Base Technology Centre (CBT), and digital learning platforms to plans for a teaching hospital and a farm settlement designed to support upcoming faculties in Medicine and Agriculture, every facility reflects the university’s commitment to addressing today’s challenges, whether they be in healthcare, agriculture, or technology.
“Our goal is to equip our students with the tools they need to thrive and lead in every sector of human endeavour.
Those intentions arrived too quickly for a young university as Amadeus which has boldly added a medical school and an unfolding state of the art teaching hospital, which by the projection and vision of the founder will also be there to provide the practicals for the medical students, admit both in patient and out patient citizens of both the immediate communities and the broader citizens of Nigeria seeking for exclusive and high profile attention of a world class treatment centre. Research, Nzotta had averred earlier, is the norm the university would be known for and the medical school will play a leading role here with a provost of reckoning. He had stated earlier that one of the motivating forces guiding the choice of the university is the need the society seeks for itself.
He added: “We are looking at areas where the emphasis will be on the developmental challenges of the country. Our healthcare challenges in the country are enormous, just as our food crisis is also very glaring. Both challenges are here with us. The agriculture programmes will help us to look into those areas of immediate and future needs of the people. We are in an agrarian zone, and there are a lot of opportunities that will be open to students of agriculture, who are willing to venture in this direction. Agriculture will be introduced, having introduced law, medicine and pharmacy.
“We have keyed into the vision of the founder. The founding father of the university Dr. Godwin Nwabunka.” For those who have followed Nwabunka’s trajectory over the years, this is understandable even as a visionary leader. Many of his admirers will attest to the fact that he is a thorough bred intellectual who has earned respect and credibility as a corporate chieftain who works to the minutest detail to get the right results in any project he embarks upon. He works to attain the best once he puts his mind on a given assignment and Amadeus is one project at the centre of his heart. He has said so over and over again and the results are resonating in the right direction.
In his maiden remarks as founder, chancellor and chairman of the Board of Trustees, Nwabunka said: “Our ambition is to harness the richness of this land, from the strength of our community to its abundant natural resources and use these in creating a catalyst for wider development-not just for our communities, but for Abla State, for Nigeria and the world at large. We seek to bring the world here to benefit from the value that lies within our people. This vision is grounded in the pursuit of knowledge.
“Our work here will position research outcomes at the forefront, research that translates into industrial application and societal advancement, ultimately empowering people and unchaining potential. We are here to ignite a fire in the young minds before us, inspiring them to become change makers, shining the light to illuminate and eventually transform every aspect of our society, unearthing the treasures that lie within, and converting waste into opportunity. We are here to innovate, to harness the power of Promethean fire to change the narrative; this is our calling.
“All of this is embodied in the university’s logo: the palm, symbolising our community, people and land; the open book, representing knowledge and research; and the flame, representing light, Innovation, transformation, and truth. Together with our motto: Knowledge and Light, these elements form the foundation of our vision.”
Still on content and what makes the university thick, Nzotta explained: “As a private university, we have set the pace, and we are currently one of the best private universities in the Southeast. Very soon, it will be evident that we shall be the most sought-after institution especially for laboratory experiments by these public universities. That is our focus, because the equipment is available. The quality of staff is equally something to talk about; it is part of our unique cutting edge.
“Like I said, we had tested and experienced professors put in place starting from day one. We are not trying to manage our teaching corps or staff team. We brought in professors and professionals from various universities from the onset. We provided the incentives and tools to ensure that there is emphasis on excellence. We have the experience, the tools, and we are research-oriented. Our aim is to teach research-based knowledge. We are not going to be churning out stale knowledge. Our lecturers will research and teach research-based knowledge and findings; the aim is to search for something new that will be relevant to the learning curve and experiences of the students, for decision making at all times. This is what makes the difference between a low and highly-rated university.
Here at Amadeus University, let me restate for the sake of emphasis and clarity, we have good and efficient lecturers, and we are going to ensure that there is a continuous staff development programme within and outside the country through conferences, seminars, and workshops.
“The emphasis is on an upgrade of staff skills, proper motivation and the provision of good environment for scholarship. The Chairman and Founder is a visionary leader. The vision to establish a unique university is even something outstanding. He had a vision, and he translated this vision into reality.
Nzotta said the founder has not rested on his oars in a bid to make the university a stand out institution. “During our recent first matriculation ceremony, we reeled out all the things that have been done so far. You can have a vision, and you sleep over it. But the founder did not sleep over the vision. He pursued it, mobilizing the material and financial resources needed to ensure that the vision represents a dream come true. The climax could be seen from the accounts reeled out during the ceremony. It became apparent that his vision has come to a significant realisation or actualisation. We appreciate that. I am one of the people he has assembled, and I can assure you that I share in his vision. The university is pursuing international collaborations, with concrete partnerships with other universities across the West African sub-region and in the United Kingdom. These partnerships will foster student and faculty exchanges, joint research, and broader access to global learning resources.
“We have a number of proposals ongoing for collaborations. There will be student and staff exchanges between our university and the collaborating institutions. We are working on a collaboration of mutual interactions and benefits, and that is our focus.
On scholarship programmes he emphasised: “Access and equity are key pillars of the institution. Amadeus University reinforces this commitment through several robust scholarship programs.
There is the Dr. Godwin Nwabunka Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship which offers full scholarships for tuition, service, and accommodation to students from low-income backgrounds. There is also the Grooming Centre Undergraduate Scholarship provides full scholarships for children of active Grooming Centre clients as well as tuition-only scholarships for children of staff members.
“Furthermore,” Nzotta continued, “the Grooming Endowment Trust (GET) Undergraduate Scholarship, rewards academic excellence with full scholarships open to all Nigerian undergraduates, with applications that closed on April 30, 2025 for our first academic session.”
