THE Governing Council of the University of Abuja has appointed Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, a professor, as the new vice-chancellor of the institution.
The appointment was announced during the Council’s 80th Extraordinary Meeting held on Friday, November 7, and was approved under the leadership of Olanrewaju Tejuoso, a senator.
Tejuoso, the chairman of the 11th Governing Council of the university, said the appointment would take effect from Tuesday 10 February 2026, and would be for a non-renewable five-year tenure.
The institution revealed that the decision followed a rigorous selection process that had attracted calls for transparency and fairness from various stakeholders.
The ICIR reported that the university’s Alumni Association urged the Council to ensure a credible and merit-based process devoid of external interference.
It also noted that the Council had approved the extension of the tenure of the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, Mathew Adamu, till February 10, 2026.
Recall that Adamu was first appointed on August 11, 2025, by the Federal Government, following leadership changes at several other federal universities, in a sweeping leadership overhaul.
In February, President Bola Tinubu sacked the school’s vice-chancellor, Aisha Sani Maikudi, a professor, who was newly appointed. He also dissolved the institution’s governing council
The president consequently appointed Lar Patricia Manko, another professor, as acting vice-chancellor of the university for a six-month term.
Manko would not be eligible to apply for the permanent vice-chancellor position once the term expires, the president said.
The university’s governing council, chaired by Saddiq Ismaila Kaita, had on December 31,2024, announced Maikudi as the institution’s seventh substantive vice-chancellor.
The ICIR reports that the university has had three VCs in one year. The new VC is the fourth.
About the new VC
According to the institution, Fawehinmi is a professor of Clinical Anatomy and Biomedical Anthropology.
He is well-rooted in the finest academic traditions and has a wealth of experience in institutional administration having been two-time Head of Department of Anatomy (2005 – 2007; 2007 – 2009), Associate Dean (2010 – 2012) and Dean (2012 – 2014) Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and two terms Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (2016 – 2020) of the University of Port Harcourt.
He has served in several statutory and ad–hoc committees and boards, attributes which the university said had equipped him with the requisite skills to provide leadership to a well-informed, articulate and growing academic community.
He has been an active member of national and international professional associations where he served as Secretary-General and Member of National Executive Council of the Nigerian Medical Association Rivers State from 1999 to 2000, Editor–in–Chief of the Journal of Anatomical Sciences and President of the Society of Experimental and Clinical Anatomists of Nigeria (2014-2016).
He has received many academic and community service awards and prizes, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (FRAI). he is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria (FAMedS).
“Fawehinmi has over 100 articles in reputable peer reviewed mostly indexed journals, visible in conventional academic search engines and 37 conference abstracts, to his credit.”
He is married to Hadeezat O. a doctorate holder and lecturer at University of Port Harcourt. The family is blessed with five children.
He is currently the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Nigerian British University, a private University based in Asa, Abia State.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.