President Bola Tinubu has appointed former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, as the new Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The appointment was announced on Monday in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Ogundipe takes over from Professor Oluremi Aina, who resigned from the position less than a year after his appointment.
According to the Presidency, the new NUC board chairman is expected to provide strategic leadership for Nigeria’s university regulatory agency, with emphasis on improving funding, strengthening academic standards, enhancing institutional stability and boosting the global competitiveness of Nigerian universities.
The statement noted that the appointment aligns with the Tinubu administration’s efforts to improve quality, access and integrity within the country’s higher education sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
President Tinubu expressed confidence that Ogundipe’s extensive academic and administrative experience would help sustain the credibility of Nigeria’s university system while advancing ongoing reforms in tertiary education.
Ogundipe served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos from 2017 to 2022. A Professor of Botany, he holds a doctorate in Botany from Obafemi Awolowo University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Lagos.
His areas of research include molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany and ecological conservation.
He currently serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, and is a Fellow of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Linnaean Society of London and the Royal Society of Biology.
Recall that this news platform had earlier reported that Professor Oluremi Aina, the outgoing chairman of the NUC Governing Board, is the father of the recently appointed Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Segun Aina. Aina’s resignation from the NUC board chairmanship comes shortly after his son’s appointment to head the nation’s tertiary admissions agency, although no official link has been established between the two developments.
