Nigerian academic, author and former lawmaker, Prof. Stephen Sinikiem Azaiki, has been appointed Director of the Centre for Polish and African Affairs (CPAA) at the University of Communication and Management (WSKiZ), Pozna\u0144, Poland.<\/p>\n
The appointment was conveyed in a letter dated May 4, 2026, and signed by the Rector of the university, Prof. Jerzy Olszewski. According to the letter, the appointment received the approval of the institution’s highest governing body.<\/p>\n
Prof. Olszewski expressed confidence in Azaiki’s ability to lead the centre, stating that the university looked forward to his “exemplary leadership and academic stewardship,” which would further strengthen the reputation and impact of the CPAA.<\/p>\n
The appointment takes immediate effect and is for an initial two-year term, with the possibility of renewal for a further term.<\/p>\n
The Centre for Polish and African Affairs, a self-sustaining non-profit institution, is dedicated to advancing research and policy development aimed at strengthening relations between Poland and African countries. The centre attracts postgraduate students, scholars and researchers from Africa, Poland and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
Its mandate includes promoting bilateral cooperation in business, education and culture between Poland and African nations. Over the years, the centre has played a significant role in fostering closer ties, including facilitating the Polish-Nigerian Trade and Investment Forum in 2017, supporting the establishment of the Polish-Nigerian Parliamentary Group in the Polish parliament, and encouraging high-level visits by Polish officials to Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Under Azaiki’s leadership, the centre is expected to expand research collaborations with Nigerian universities, develop policy initiatives to enhance trade relations between Poland and Nigeria, and create scholarship and fellowship opportunities for postgraduate students from Nigeria and across Africa.<\/p>\n
A native of Bayelsa State, Prof. Azaiki holds doctoral degrees in Agriculture and Public Administration. He is widely recognised for his contributions to scholarship, having authored numerous books and academic publications on agriculture, oil and gas governance, federalism and African development.<\/p>\n
Beyond academia, Azaiki has built an extensive record in public service. He served as Bayelsa State’s pioneer Commissioner for Agriculture and later as Secretary to the State Government for two terms. Between 2019 and 2023, he represented Yenagoa\/Kolokuma\/Opokuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
He is also the founder of the Azaiki Public Library and Museum in Yenagoa, Co-Chairman of the National Think Tank Initiative, and a recipient of the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).<\/p>\n
His appointment is expected to further strengthen academic, cultural and economic engagement between Poland and Africa, particularly Nigeria, while opening new opportunities for research and educational exchange.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigerian academic, author and former lawmaker, Prof. Stephen Sinikiem Azaiki, has been appointed Director of the Centre for Polish and African Affairs (CPAA) at the University of Communication and Management (WSKiZ), Pozna\u0144, Poland. The appointment was conveyed in a letter dated May 4, 2026, and signed by the Rector of the university, Prof. Jerzy Olszewski. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5783,15,7],"tags":[3585,8387,8388],"class_list":["post-99151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-education","category-jobs","category-news","tag-african","tag-azaiki","tag-poland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99153,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99151\/revisions\/99153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}