The university was established in 1981 through Law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly, Owerri. This was amended by Edict 27 of 1985, another in 1986 and finally for the relocation by the Law No. 2 of 1992. Academic activities commenced at the temporary site located at the former Madonna High School, Ihitte, with Professor M. J. C. Echeruo as its First Vice-Chancellor. The decision to establish a State University arose when the absence of a Federal University was greatly left by the people of Imo State whose major industry is education. The State had so many qualified candidates who could not be admitted by the existing Universities.

The Government of Imo State under Chief Sam Mbakwe sought for and obtained the approval of the Federal Government for the establishment of Imo State University as a Liberal Studies tertiary institution in the State.

Initially the University was designed as a Multi-Campus Structure with one College to be located in each Senatorial District of the then Imo State with its main campus located at Etiti in the Okigwe Senatorial Zone while the Aba Campus, in Aba Zone, housed the College of Business and Legal Studies. The Multi-Campus structure was phased out because of logistics. They University was then relocated to Okigwe in one Campus.

Imo State Polytechnic is a higher education institute in Umuagwo, Imo State, Nigeria. It was established in 1978 as the Michael Okpara College of Agriculture, Umuagwo and was upgraded to a Polytechnic status, renamed as the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo in 2007. The institution provides courses, training and research in all branches of Agriculture, Management Sciences, Engineering and Food Sciences.[The institution is certified to award National Diploma and Higher National Diploma qualifications.

The Polytechnic is twenty-six kilometers from Owerri on the Port Harcourt road and has three hundred and sixty hectares of land. The Otamiri River runs past its border, making it ideal for all year round agricultural production through irrigation.