President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major overhaul of leadership at several federal universities, including the University of Abuja, which has now been renamed Yakubu Gowon University. These changes, aimed at revitalizing Nigeria’s higher education system, take immediate effect.
At the newly renamed Yakubu Gowon University, President Tinubu dissolved the entire governing council and removed Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi as Vice-Chancellor. In her place, Professor Lar Patricia Manko has been appointed Acting Vice-Chancellor for a six-month term. However, Manko will not be eligible to apply for the permanent position when it becomes available.
In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, explained that this restructuring is part of the administration’s commitment to improving governance, ensuring academic excellence, and promoting accountability across the country’s higher education sector.
As part of these changes, Senator Lanre Tejuoso, currently Pro-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has been appointed Pro-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University. He will be succeeded in Makurdi by Senator Joy Emordi, who has now been assigned as Pro-Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education.
At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), President Tinubu removed Professor Polycarp Emeka Chigbu from his role as Acting Vice-Chancellor, even before his tenure’s scheduled expiration on February 14. He has been replaced by Professor Oguejiofu T. Ujam, who will also serve a six-month term with the same restriction of ineligibility for the permanent role.
Further restructuring at UNN includes a Pro-Chancellor change, with Gen. Ike Nwachukwu being reassigned as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo. Taking over as UNN’s new Pro-Chancellor is Engineer Olubunmi Kayode Ojo, who previously held similar leadership positions at the Federal University of Lokoja and the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti.
In another leadership shift, Professor Zubairu Tajo Abdullahi, who was serving as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, will now take over from Ojo at the Federal University of Lokoja. Additionally, Senator Sani Stores has been appointed as the new Pro-Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education, replacing Senator Joy Emordi.
Meanwhile, Barrister Olugbenga Kukoyi, a Council Member at UNN, has been appointed Pro-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State.
President Tinubu emphasized that these leadership changes are designed to enhance governance structures, strengthen academic institutions, and ensure accountability in Nigeria’s tertiary education system.