President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe as chairman of the governing board of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
A statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information & Strategy, disclosed that he “succeeds Emeritus Professor Olufemi Raphael Aina, who resigned his appointment after less than one year in office.”
Checks revealed that President Tinubu appointed Professor Aina in July last year, and the board members were inaugurated in November 2025.
Professor Ogundipe, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (2017–2022), is a professor of Botany with expertise in molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany, and ecological conservation.
The new Chairman of the Federal Institutions Regulatory Body holds a PhD in Botany from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from the University of Lagos.
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He currently serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.
Professor Ogundipe is a fellow of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Linnaean Society of London, and the Royal Society of Biology, London. He has also served as President of the Botanical Society of Nigeria and Chairman of the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC).
The statement noted that in his new position as NUC Chairman, Professor Ogundipe will oversee the regulatory body of the Nigerian university system, focusing on funding, global competitiveness and academic stability.
President Tinubu charges Ogundipe to “provide visionary leadership at the NUC and sustain the credibility of the Nigerian university system, in alignment with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, by advancing quality, access, and integrity in the education sector.”
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