Our leaders combine decades of academic, professional and entrepreneurial experience with a deep commitment to knowledge, truth and righteousness. Together, they set the standard for what it means to lead, and to serve, at Wellspring University.
Chancellor
B.Sc. Economics & Accounting · FCA · FCITN · Harvard Business School Alumnus · D.MSc. (Honoris Causa)
Pro-Chancellor
B.Sc. Economics · M.Sc. Finance · D.MSc. (Honoris Causa)
Vice Chancellor
Distinguished Physicist · 75+ Publications · FNIP · UNESCO ICTP Visiting Scientist
"A pastor, an accountant, a thinker, a social reformer and a writer."
Ituah Ighodalo attended the prestigious King's College Lagos and the International School University of Ibadan, before obtaining a B.Sc combined honours degree in Economics and Accounting in 1982 from the University of Hull, England. He qualified as a chartered accountant in July 1986 and attended a business management course at the Harvard Business School, Boston, in 2011.
Pastor Ituah is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Nigeria. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and the American Institute of Management, bringing a rare blend of spiritual depth, financial rigour and executive leadership to the Wellspring Council.
"A teacher, an entrepreneur, and a builder of academic institutions."
Daniel Chiegile Isimoya, B.Sc. (Economics) and M.Sc. (Finance), is the Pro-Chancellor of Wellspring University. A teacher who has been in the education sector all his life, he taught at Edo College, Benin City, and at Lagos Polytechnic, Lagos, before joining the academic staff of the University of Lagos.
The drive to put his creative and entrepreneurial skills to productive use led to his resignation from the University of Lagos to establish the Management Science Centre in 1983, providing supplementary lectures to the part-time degree students of the then Correspondence and Open Studies Institute (now Distant Learning Institute) of the University of Lagos.
"A physicist, a researcher, and a builder of African academic capacity."
Professor Isaac Rotimi Ajayi is a distinguished physicist and academic with over 75 scholarly publications and several authored books. He has presented at more than 45 academic conferences across Nigeria, Europe, Africa and the United States, and has secured multiple research grants, including projects with the National Space Research and Development Agency.
He facilitated the establishment of the Centre for Space, Energy and Environmental Research at Adekunle Ajasin University in 2009. A Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Physics and member of the Health Physics Society USA, Professor Ajayi has served as an external examiner to postgraduate programmes, led NUC accreditation panels, and successfully supervised four PhD theses.
He was a beneficiary of the Federal Government postgraduate scholarship at the University of Ibadan and completed several International Atomic Energy Agency trainings at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy. He served as a Regular Associate and Visiting Research Scientist at the UNESCO International Centre for Theoretical Physics from 2006 to 2013 and was a Visiting Research Associate at the University of Bremen, Germany.
"Professor of Business Administration, College of Social and Management Sciences."
Prof. Patrick S. Ohikhena is a Professor of Business Administration in the Department of Business Administration, College of Social and Management Sciences, Wellspring University, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
He holds a BSc (Upper Division) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; an MBA from the University of Benin (winner of Akinmokun's Prize for Business Policy, 1991); and a PhD in Management from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, bringing both academic depth and policy expertise to the University's executive leadership.
Beyond the principal officers, a dedicated team of senior administrators oversees the records, finances and knowledge systems that make Wellspring a world-class institution.
Dr Helen Uzezi Wara is an experienced university administrator and academic with a PhD in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Covenant University, an MBA from Lagos State University and Crawford University, and a BSc in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University. She has held senior administrative roles at Covenant University, Afe Babalola University, and Havilla University, including Acting Registrar, Director of Admissions, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Hospital Administration.
In addition to her administrative roles, Dr Wara has also been involved in teaching as an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Business Administration. Her research interests include internal branding, competitive advantage in private universities, employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and productivity in service quality, among others. She is a member of IPMAN and the Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators.
PhD Industrial Relations & HRM · MBA · BSc Business Admin
Mr Paradise Iwoh, FCA, heads the Bursary at Wellspring University. He holds a degree in Accounting, an MBA from the University of Benin, and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
His professional experience spans audit, oil and gas, and institutional finance, with prior roles at Okoro Wilson & Co., Envoy Oil Industry, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, where he served as Senior Manager across the Finance and Faculties departments. He joined Wellspring University in March 2021 to lead the Bursary. Mr Iwoh is also a deacon in the Redeemed Christian Church of God and a member of ICAN's Faculty of Public Finance Management.
FCA · MBA (UNIBEN) · ACTIN
Dr Adedoyin Esan is the University Librarian at Wellspring University with over a decade of experience in academic librarianship and information management. He holds a BSc in Library and Information Science from the University of Ilorin, an MLIS from the University of Ibadan, and a PhD from Delta State University.
Prior to joining Wellspring in 2019, he served as head librarian at Legacy University, The Gambia. At Wellspring University, he has been an active member and chairman of several university committees, including Chairman of the Committee on Procurement of Books, Member of the Special Examination Monitoring Task Force, Member of the Career Structure Committee, Member of the Senate Business Committee, and Member of the Budget Committee. He is a member of the Nigerian Library Association and a registered librarian with the Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria.
BSc LIS · MLIS · PhD · CLN
Shaping the long-term direction of Wellspring, from curriculum to campus, through deliberate, evidence-based decisions that serve students and society.
Holding ourselves to the highest standards of academic rigour, financial stewardship and ethical conduct, and building the systems that make excellence repeatable.
Leading to serve. Our students, our staff, our community, and the broader African project. Leadership at Wellspring is a mandate, not a privilege.
Become part of a university whose leadership has rebuilt it from the edge, and whose mission is to unlock Africa's potential, one scholar at a time.