Tinubu Appoints Ex-UNILAG VC Ogundipe as NUC Board Chairman

Tinubu Appoints Ex-UNILAG VC Ogundipe as NUC Board Chairman

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe as chairman of the governing board of the National Universities Commission (NUC), in a major reshuffle of the agency's leadership.

Professor Ogundipe takes over from Emeritus Professor Olufemi Raphael Aina, who resigned the position after less than a year in office. Professor Aina had been appointed in July 2025, with board members inaugurated the following November.

A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, where he served from 2017 to 2022, Professor Ogundipe is a professor of Botany with specialised expertise in molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany, and ecological conservation. He holds a PhD in Botany from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from the University of Lagos.

The 66-year-old academic currently serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer's University, Ede, in Osun State. He is a fellow of several professional bodies, among them the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Linnaean Society of London, and the Royal Society of Biology, London. He has also previously served as President of the Botanical Society of Nigeria and Chairman of the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC).

In his new role, Professor Ogundipe will oversee the regulatory body responsible for Nigeria's university system, with a focus on funding, global competitiveness, and academic stability.

President Tinubu has charged him with providing visionary leadership at the NUC and sustaining the credibility of the Nigerian university system, in line with the administration's Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasises quality, access, and integrity in the education sector.

The announcement was signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, and dated June 22, 2026.