President Bola Tinubu on Monday appointed Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, a former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, to chair the governing board of the National Universities Commission (NUC), an agency that oversees the nation’s University system.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President Bayo Onanuga said Professor Ogundipe, 66, replaces Emeritus Professor Olufemi Raphael Aina, who resigned after serving less than a year.
President Tinubu had appointed Professor Aina in July 2025; the board was inaugurated in November.
A botanist by training, Professor Ogundipe led the University of Lagos from 2017 to 2022 and holds a Doctoral Degree from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from the University of Lagos.
His academic work spans molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany and ecological conservation.
He currently serves as pro‑chancellor of Redeemer’s University in Ede, Osun State.
Professor Ogundipe is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science and of several U.K. learned societies, and has held leadership posts including president of the Botanical Society of Nigeria and chairman of the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council.
In his new role, Professor Ogundipe will be charged with steering the NUC’s regulatory agenda amid persistent challenges around university funding, academic standards and international competitiveness.
According to Onanuga, President Tinubu expects the new chairman to align the commission’s work with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda by advancing quality, access and institutional integrity in higher education.
