By Ghazali Ibrahim
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, as the new Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The appointment was announced on Monday in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Ogundipe takes over from Emeritus Professor Olufemi Raphael Aina, who resigned from the position less than a year after his appointment. Aina was named NUC board chairman by President Tinubu in July 2025, while the board was inaugurated in November of the same year.
A renowned scholar and professor of Botany, Ogundipe led UNILAG from 2017 to 2022. His academic career spans several fields, including molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany and ecological conservation.
The 66-year-old academic earned his doctorate in Botany from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and also holds an MBA from the University of Lagos. He currently serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.
Ogundipe is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, the Linnaean Society of London and the Royal Society of Biology, among other professional bodies. He has also served as President of the Botanical Society of Nigeria and Chairman of the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC).
As chairman of the NUC governing board, he is expected to help steer policies aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s university system, improving academic standards, expanding access to quality education and enhancing the global competitiveness of tertiary institutions.
The Presidency said Tinubu expects Ogundipe to provide the leadership needed to sustain the credibility of the nation’s university system in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the education sector.
