President Bola Tinubu has approved fresh appointments into the governing councils and management of federal universities, bringing in notable academics and administrators to strengthen leadership in the institutions.
The appointments, announced on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, include Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, a veteran communication scholar, and Prof. Ibrahim Adamu Yakasai, a renowned medical educator and retired Nigerian Army Colonel.
Chisom Obih was appointed to the Governing Council of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, filling a vacancy created by the death of a council member.
Prof. Akinfeleye, former Head of the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos and Chairman of the Centre of Excellence in Multimedia and Cinematography/Unilag Radio 103.1 FM and Television, will now serve on the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
He replaces Wahab Owokoniran, who was recently appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Federal University of Transport, Daura, Katsina State.
Akinfeleye, one of Nigeria’s most respected authorities in journalism and mass communication studies, has decades of teaching, research and professional experience.
He was formerly a member of the Governing Council of Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, and has trained generations of Nigerian journalists.
In Zamfara State, the President appointed Prof. Yakasai as Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsafe.
Other principal officers named for the university are Mr. Hamisu Yusuf Yelwa as Registrar, Usman Nakazalle Sanusi as Bursar, and Dr. Shehu Aminu Liman as Librarian.
Prof. Yakasai, currently the Provost of the College of Health Sciences at Bayero University, Kano, also serves as Chairman of the Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Medicine in Nigeria.
He is a member of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Benue State, and a former Director-General of the Kano State Hospitals Management Board.
A distinguished obstetrician and gynaecologist, Yakasai obtained his MBBS from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He later won a European Economic Commission scholarship for postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, where he earned membership and fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
He also holds a Master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Winchester and fellowships from the International College of Surgeons (FICS, USA) and the American College of Surgeons.
The Presidency said the new appointments are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen governance and management in federal universities, raise academic standards, and ensure that institutions are run by competent and experienced professionals.
