President Bola Tinubu has announced sweeping leadership changes across federal universities, including the removal of vice-chancellors of the University of Abuja, now renamed Yakubu Gowon University, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
This was disclosed in a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Thursday.
At Yakubu Gowon University, Professor Aisha Maikudi has been relieved of her duties as vice-chancellor, and the university’s governing council dissolved.
Senator Lanre Tejuoso, formerly pro-chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has been appointed pro-chancellor of the renamed institution. He will be succeeded in Makurdi by Senator Joy Emordi, now the pro-chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education.
Professor Patricia Lar has been appointed acting vice-chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University for a six-month term. However, she will not be eligible to apply for the substantive position.
At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor Polycarp Chigbu was removed as acting vice-chancellor before the end of his tenure on February 14. His successor, Professor Oguejiofu Ujam, has been appointed for a six-month term under similar restrictions on eligibility for the permanent role.
Further changes at UNN include the reassignment of General Ike Nwachukwu from his role as pro-chancellor to the University of Uyo. Engineer Olubunmi Ojo, who previously served as pro-chancellor at the Federal University of Lokoja and the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti, has been appointed the new pro-chancellor of UNN.
Other appointments include Professor Zubairu Abdullahi as pro-chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja, succeeding Ojo, and Senator Sani Stores as the pro-chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education. Barrister Olugbenga Kukoyi, a council member at UNN, has been named the new pro-chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
President Tinubu emphasised that the changes, effective immediately, are part of his administration’s commitment to revitalising Nigeria’s higher education system. (QED)
