Brief History of University of Abuja Leadership Centre (UofALC)
It is a common knowledge that University of Abuja was established in January 1988 but academic activities started in 1990 with matriculation of pioneer students. The University started with four Faculties: Education, Arts, Law and Science. Its formation was informed by the imperative to provide a foremost Institution of higher learning within the enclave of the nation’s federal capital city, Abuja, with the objectives that would foster the vision for the conception of the seat of the Federal Government operational base.
From the foregoing, the University, ab initio, was conceptualized to stand out among comity of universities in the nation with the dual mandate to provide conventional academic programme and Distance Learning and Continuing Education (CDLCE). The CDLCE which had been long in existence before the creation of the University in 1988, was approved when the National Universities Commission conceived the idea of Open Universities with a view to providing for the yearning educational needs of civil/public servants and employees. This was to provide opportunities for these class of employees in the country who could not afford to leave their jobs to engage in full time university academic pursuit.
Consequently, the need to establish a conventional University in the Federal Capital Territory became necessary resulted in the establishment of University of Abuja which was merged with the Open University. Thus, the Act establishing the University made it possible for the University of Abuja to run both the full-time regular and conventional programmes and the Continuing Education and Distance Learning Programme.

The Main Objective of Abuja Leadership Centre (ALC)
The Abuja Leadership Centre (TETFund Centre of Excellence in Public Governance and Leadership) of University of Abuja was founded on the 25th January 2021 as a hub for leadership development in Nigeria. It is one of 12 home-spun Centres of Excellence in the Country’s six geopolitical regions. It is a competency or capability centre, that will explore and adopt new technology tools, techniques or practices and focus on providing thought leadership and direction, establishing and promoting best leadership practices, research and development to provide appropriate recommendations, as well as provide leadership support, mentorship and education.
The establishment of the Abuja Leadership Centre is against the background of the crises of public and private governance and leadership deficit across Nigeria and indeed Africa. The Centre was therefore established on the understanding that the problems of the African continent can be located in leadership failures, faulty strategies and inappropriate development approaches. Nigeria requires results-oriented leaders who are committed to innovative, strategic and transformational leadership. Institutions, enterprises, private and government agencies, and non-profit organizations require leaders who possess skills to steer their teams and organizations towards higher performance. Quality leaders as often proven, have the ability to come up with a vision and mobilize people behind the realization of the vision and empowering those in position of authority, to be strategic and transformational leaders in their organizations. The goal is to have a diverse group of current and emerging innovative, strategic and transformative leaders for sustainable institutional transformation, good governance and to produce cutting-edge knowledge and skills in leadership and governance that meet international best practices.
As a research, teaching, development and innovative centre in leadership education, training and capacity building, it is intended to provide strategic intervention to the leadership question. The Centre will thus generate and diffuse new information rooted in empirical and research-based elucidation, management and, resolution of the crises of public governance and leadership that have been exacerbated in the digital age. The Centre envisions the development of a new culture of public and private governance and leadership based on transformative principles to cure state and society of its current leadership deficits thus engendering National Development by grooming and capacitating a new generation of leaders with passion which have been the bane of Nigeria’s development.
We believe that to achieve sustainable development, there is need to build the capacity of leaders at all levels both in private and public sectors both within and outside our shores.