Gloria Samuel Karuri, a distinguished Clinical Psychologist, university professor and mental health advocate from Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, has been successfully screened and approved for appointment as a Commissioner in Plateau State.
Karuri brings to the new role more than four decades of public service and over 25 years of experience in psychology teaching, research and community service.
Her professional career has been strongly rooted in mental health, trauma treatment, substance-use prevention and treatment, community intervention, policy advocacy and capacity building.
She holds a B.Sc. in Psychology, an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She is a Professor of General and Applied Psychology and served as Head of the Department of General and Applied Psychology at the University of Jos from 2016 to 2021.
She has also served as a Visiting Lecturer at Baze University, Abuja, and is a member of the Governing Council of Plateau State University, Bokkos.
Karuri is currently the President of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists (NACP) and Executive Director of the Isana Center for Information and Substance Abuse Treatment (ICISAT), an NGO established in 2005 to prevent, manage and treat substance-use disorders and related mental health conditions. ICISAT has operated as a certified trauma treatment centre since 2014.
Her professional engagements also include serving as Financial Secretary of the Community Intervention Network on Drugs (CIND), a member of the Committee on Alcohol Policy in Nigeria under ISSUP, and Chairperson of the Plateau State Chapter of the Nigerian Psychological Association.
She has participated in several capacity-building and leadership development initiatives involving organisations including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and NACA. She has also undertaken consultancy work with GIZ on trauma-processing activities in Plateau State.
The appointment marks another significant milestone in the career of a professional whose work has combined academia, clinical practice, administration, community development and mental health advocacy.
NACP Celebrates Appointment
Reacting to the appointment, Pamela Arnold Udoka, the National Publicity Secretary/PRO of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists (NACP), said members of the association across Nigeria and in the diaspora were still jubilating over the confirmation of their President’s appointment as Commissioner.
Udoka conveyed goodwill on behalf of the association’s leadership and members, including the Chairman BOT of the NACP, Igwe Peter Ebigbo; Secretary to the Board, Helen Okhiaofe Osinowo; another Board member, Harry Obi-Nwosu; the immediate Past President of NACP, Prof. Gboyega Abikoye; and one of the Founding Fathers of NACP, Emeritus Professor Azubuike Francis Uzoka.
They joined other Fellows and members of the NACP in wishing the newly appointed Honorable Commissioner well and praying for God’s guidance and wisdom as she assumes her new responsibilities.
Udoka also expressed confidence in Gloria Karuri’s ability to effectively combine her responsibilities as a Commissioner in Plateau State with her role as President of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists.
NACP National Conference to Hold in Jos
Udoka further announced that the association’s Annual National Scientific Conference and National Congress, which had previously been scheduled to hold in Jos, Plateau State, from November 1 to November 6, 2026, would now take on added significance with Prof. Karuri serving as both host state Commissioner and President of the NACP.
‘So our Mama Psychology will be hosting us in Jos in a dual capacity as our President, as well as a Commissioner in the State,’ she added excitedly.
The appointment is expected to further highlight the role of professional expertise in public leadership, particularly in areas involving mental health, community development and social wellbeing.
With her extensive experience in clinical psychology, academia, public service and community intervention, Prof. Gloria Samuel Karuri begins her new assignment with a distinguished record of service and professional leadership.