Royal Honour: Author Jarvis University VC, Prof. Edet, Honoured With Catholic Order of Saint Sylvester
By Judex OKORO
The Vice Chancellor of Author Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State hav, Cross River State, RT. Hon. Chevalier Ntufam Joseph Ekpe Edet, has been honoured with Order of Saint Sylvester
Prof. Edet was honoured alongside during the Mass of Investiture and Medalists of St. Gregory, St. Sylvester and Papal Medalists held on Friday, July 11, 2025 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Calabar.
Edet was honoured among thirty-two lay Catholics including the Obong of Calabar who was decorated as a Knight of Saint Gregory.
Archbishop Joseph Ekuwem of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calabar presented the awards on behalf of the Supreme Pontiff.
Speaking at the event,Ekuwem highlighted the significance of the award and encouraged recipients to imbibe the spirit of humility. The award symbolizes exceptional service to the Catholic Church.
It is the highest honor for laypeople, established by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 and made a permanent Papal distinction in 1898.
Advincula said the gathering is “to celebrate the remarkable journey of faith, service, and charity.”
The Papal honours system seeks to encourage aspirations and ideals of the highest standards and values within the Catholic Church by recognising people who have shown outstanding valour and bravery on behalf of the Church and Society; or carried out conspicuous deeds of merit in Church and society
Speaking shortly with THE BEAGLE NEWS after the honour, Prof Edet said he remains grateful to the Catholic community, whic6h teachings have guided him in all his daily dealings with humanity.
He said the honour is very significant as it marks a climax of his service to Catholic community, adding that he will continue to contribute his quota to the teachings of the Catholics and that of St. Sylvester, who preaches humility.
Profile of Prof. Edet, Order of Saint Sylvester
RT. Hon. Chevalier Ntufam Joseph Ekpe Edet, Ph.D, KSM, JP, MP, PGK, KSS, hails from Oban Town, Akamkpa Local Government and is the seventh of fourteen children of the Late Ntufam Stephen Ekpe Edet and Ntunkae Etieka Immaculata Mmaoffiong Edet JP.
The father was a seasoned school administrator, who retired as Superintendent of Schools. The mother was a teacher and an entrepreneur. Young Joe attended various primary schools, as the transfer of his itinerant father as a public servant meant a change of school for Little Joe. He later gained admission into the prestigious Immaculate Conception Seminary, Mfamosing, Calabar where he nursed the idea of becoming a Catholic Priest. The childhood dream waned almost immediately after he left the Seminary.
Tertiary education exploits
Edet received his first degree in law from the University of Calabar in 1997. He attended and graduated from the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja, in 1999 as one of the Pioneers of the Abuja Law School. He was then called to the Bar, becoming a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The lure for further studies saw him embarking on a journey to acquire a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) in 2004. He thereafter enrolled in a second master’s degree program and obtained a Master’s in Law, LL.M. Still not satisfied he went on to bag a Doctor of Laws, Ph.D. from his alma mater, the University of Calabar.
His quest for continuous education saw him enrolling in Goldsmiths, University of London obtaining a Certificate in Academic Writing and Publishing another Certificate in Contemporary Writing from the same University of London and yet another Certificate in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators; a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom; a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Administrators and also a Fellow of the Institute of Resource Management of Nigeria. And a recipient of the award of Fellow of the Doyen Bar. He is a member of the NBA Committee of Lawyers in Academia.
Public Service
Sir Ntufam Joe Ekpe Edet was head of Department of Jurisprudence and International Law; and head, of the Department of Private and Property Law, University of Calabar. He is presently the Vice-Chancellor, of Author Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State having served variously as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Dean of Law.
He is the Principal Partner, of TRINITAS SC ATTORNEYS a law firm with offices in Calabar, Abuja and the United Kingdom.
Political Journey
He has been a consummate player in the public sector having served as Special Adviser to successive Governors of Cross River State since the inception of the Fourth Republic.
He was the special Adviser to HE Donald Duke, Governor of Cross River State in 2007; the Cross River State Liaison Officer in Abuja in 2012-2015 and was equally the Deputy Chief of Staff, Governor’s office, Calabar in 2007-2012. Special Adviser Intergovernmental Affairs and Liaison; Special Adviser, Mineral Resources, Senior Special Adviser Strategic Policy Advisory Council (SPAC). He was the Chief of Staff in the Cross River State House of Assembly and had served as Legal Adviser in the Akamkpa Local Government Area. He has had a brief stint with the defunct Mercantile Bank of Nigeria. He equally served as Chair of the Cross River State and the State of Maryland Sister State Project, coordinating the signing of the first sister state agreement in Nigeria with the State of Maryland, United States of America.
Remarkable publications
Edet is well-published in both local and international journals and recently his book The Rule of Law and Constitutional Immunity in Nigeria was sponsored and published with support from TETFUND.
It was one of the 50 Books unveiled by the federal government to mark the anniversary of the establishment of TETFUND.
A second one titled: Judiciary, Electoral Judgements and Democracy in Nigeria has again been accepted by TETFUND and is undergoing publication.
He is the author of the best-selling constitutional law textbook Notes on Constitutional Law which is used in all Nigerian Universities.
Joseph is a devout Catholic from birth.
Christian life
He is a Knight of the Order of Saint Mulumba. Indeed, he is the immediate past Grand Knight IPGK of Emmanuel Subcouncil.
In his younger years, he was a multi-instrumentalist and a chorister. He led the Seminary choir. Among the members of the Knights of Saint Mulumba, he is known to always sit in the choir stand even as a Grand Knight. He never sat in the exalted reserved seat of Grand Knights.
In 2018 he made a trip to Uganda to celebrate the Feast Day of the Martyrs of Uganda including Mulumba and Saint Charles Lwanga in Namugongo.
As a Grand Knight, he acquired a one-hectare piece of land donated by the Obong of Calabar to erect a model two-bedroom priest retirement home which is still undergoing construction.
In his home parish of Oban, he took over and completed the carcass building of the Parish House. He has donated Mass Boxes to priests and equipped his home parish with a
complete set of priests' vestments.
He is a church builder and has made several donations to church causes. He is the Co-Chairman of The Archbishop’s House Building committee of Saint Charles Lwanga; and the Chairman of the Saint Michael, Oban’s new Catholic Church building
committee.
In his native Oban, he converted his residents to a non-profit for creche and primary school known as Trinitas Academy where children are deliberately trained in Catholic morals and values at an early age. The school is tuition-free. Together with his wife they run a scholarship programme and has undertaken the sponsorship of more than two hundred children in primary and secondary schools.
He is a Jerusalem Pilgrim raised to power three; a Marian Pilgrim who has traversed notable Marian Pilgrim Shrines in Europe like Fatima in Portugal, Lourdes in France. He has visited Loyola the home of Saint Ignatius of Loyola; Avila, the home of Saint Teresa; and Santiago de Compostela the home of Saint James in Spain. He has been a regular visitor to the Vatican City in Italy and witnessed the beatification and canonisation of Saint Pope John Paul 11; He has visited San Giovanni Rotondo, the town where St. Padre Pio lived; Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare; Monte Sant’Angelo; the city of Milan and Venice.
He is a member of the CMO and an ardent Marian devotee who is presently the Chairman of the Aparition Committee of St. Charles Lwanga Parish, Essien Town.
Awards/community service
He is a winner of more than one hundred awards of honour and excellence by groups and organisations. He is a recipient of the Magna Alumnus of all the institutions he has attended.
He was the President of Immaculate Conception Seminary Mfamosing Alumni Association; Class Captain of Class ’97 of the Faculty of Law, Unical; President Friends of Saint Charles Lwanga; National Organising Secretary of PANDEF; Director General of Destiny Group, Convener and Patron of several organisations including Ejik Oban and Ofu Oban.
He holds double traditional titles of Ntufam Onor Mfam (Jewel of the Kingdom), Eyeghanjim Akachak (the Pillar of Akachak Festival) and the Grand Patron and Custodian of Oban Moninkim dance group. A strong member of Ekan Ebarim of Oban.
Family life
As always, the best is served last. He is married to the delectable and graceful Lady (Ntunkae) Dr. Mrs Mary-Joe Ekpe Edet, a seasoned banker whom he described as a support base and an epitome of a perfect life partner.
They are blessed with three grown- boys: Oyeb a Software Engineer who just graduated from Nile University; Katen a Medical student at Baze University and Ntabejik who just made the JAMB score of 364 from the Loyola Jesuits College, Abuja. The best this year by a Cross Riverian.
