By Hajara Abdullahi
The Governing Council of Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja) has approved the appointment of Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi as Vice Chancellor.
This was announced in a statement by the institution’s Acting Head of Information, Dr. Habib Yakoob, during the 80th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on Friday.
According to the statement, the appointment takes effect from Tuesday, February 10, 2026, and is for a non-renewable tenure of five years.
The university has been under the leadership of acting Vice Chancellors appointed by the Federal Government following controversies surrounding the appointment of former VC, Professor Aisha Maikudi. Professor Fawehinmi is currently the Vice Chancellor of the Nigerian British University.
However, the Council also approved the extension of the tenure of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Matthew Adamu, until February 10, 2026. He was first appointed on August 11, 2025.
Professor Fawehinmi is a Professor of Clinical Anatomy and Biomedical Anthropology. He has served as a two-time Head of the Department of Anatomy (2005–2007; 2007–2009), Associate Dean (2010–2012), Dean (2012–2014) of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, and two-term Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) (2016–2020) at the University of Port Harcourt.
He has received numerous academic and community service awards and prizes and is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria.
Professor Fawehinmi has also attracted several national and international competitive grants as Principal Investigator.