The Governing Council of the University of Abuja—recently renamed Yakubu Gowon University—has approved the appointment of Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi as the new substantive Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
In a statement on Friday, the university’s Acting Director of Information and University Relations, Dr Habib Yakoob, said the appointment was announced at the Council’s 80th Extraordinary Meeting chaired by Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso.
“The appointment will take effect from Tuesday, February 10, 2026, for a single, non-renewable tenure of five years,” the statement added.
Transition and Continuity
The Council also extended the tenure of the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mathew Adamu, until February 10, 2026, to ensure a smooth transition.
Prof. Adamu, who was appointed by the Federal Government on August 11, 2025, will oversee the institution until Prof. Fawehinmi assumes office.
Currently the Vice-Chancellor of the Nigerian British University, Asa, Abia State, Prof. Fawehinmi is a scholar of clinical anatomy and biomedical anthropology.
He has had an illustrious academic career at the University of Port Harcourt, where he served as Head of Anatomy Department (2005–2009), Associate Dean and Dean of Basic Medical Sciences (2010–2014), and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 2016 to 2020.
An Academic of Wide Influence
A Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria, Prof. Fawehinmi has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and 37 conference abstracts.
He has attended 78 academic events across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
He is also a past President of the Society of Experimental and Clinical Anatomists of Nigeria and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anatomical Sciences.
His research work has earned him national recognition, including a Federal Government patent for his AMRG Anthropometry Chair—a device for dimensional body measurements.
As an external examiner and assessor, he has contributed to academic programmes in top universities, including the University of Exeter, UK.
His 2014 inaugural lecture at the University of Port Harcourt, “Different Tailors for the Same People; Same Surgeon for Different People,” remains one of his most cited public engagements.
He is married to Dr Hadeezat O. Fawehinmi, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, and they are blessed with five children.
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