The Governing Council of the University of Abuja, UNIABUJA now known as Yakubu Gowon University, has officially approved the appointment of Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi as the substantive Vice Chancellor.
This appointment was communicated during the 80th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council convened today, Friday, November 7, 2025, as stated by the acting Head of Information at the institution, Dr. Habib Yakoob.
The appointment of Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi will take effect next year Tuesday, 10 February 2026, and is established for a non-renewable tenure of five years. Currently, Professor Fawehinmi serves as the Vice Chancellor of the Nigerian British University.
His confirmation as the substantive Vice Chancellor follows a period during which the university was overseen by acting Vice Chancellors appointed by the Federal Government due to the controversies surrounding the tenure of the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Aisha Maikudi.
In addition, the Council has sanctioned the extension of the tenure of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Mathew Adamu, until 10 February 2026. Professor Adamu was initially appointed on 11 August 2025 by the Federal Government.
Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi is a Professor of Clinical Anatomy and Biomedical Anthropology, possessing a robust foundation in distinguished academic traditions and extensive experience in institutional administration.
His previous roles include two terms as Head of the Department of Anatomy (2005-2007; 2007-2009), Associate Dean (2010-2012), and Dean of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences (2012-2014) at the University of Port Harcourt. Furthermore, he has served two terms as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) from 2016 to 2020.
He has participated in numerous statutory and ad hoc committees and boards and has actively engaged with national and international professional associations. His contributions include serving as Secretary-General and a Member of the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Medical Association in 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 from 2014 to 2016.
Professor Fawehinmi has earned multiple Academic and Community Service Awards and Prizes, and he holds Fellowships with both the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria.
He has successfully attracted several National and International Competitive Grants as Principal Investigator, and his invention received a Federal Government Patent for the Design of the AMRG Anthropometry Chair for Dimensional Body Measurements.