Oyekan becomes UNILORIN Council Chairman

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of a consummate technocrat and retired Director in the Federal Civil Service, Dr. Abdullah Jibril Oyekan (MFR), as the new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Ilorin.

Dr. Oyekan, who takes over from the Obi of Ugwashi-Ukwu, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo, is one of the 23 wise men and women picked by the Federal Government to direct the affairs of 23 out of the 40 federal universities in the country for the next four years.

The appointment was contained in a press statement by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, ROYAL NEWS has gathered.

According to the Minister, in making the appointments, President Buhari took cognizance of the requirements for membership, including a minimum of a university degree, high integrity and commitment to educational development of the country.

Dr. Oyekan holds a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, in 1971. He served the Department of Petroleum Resources for more than a decade and was Nigeria’s Representative on the Project Implementation Committee of the West African Gas Pipeline Project, from 1998 – Jan. 2000.

The new Unilorin Governing Council Chairman also served as a Director in the Ministry of Industries, and Director of the Air force Affairs Department, Ministry of Defence. He has also served as the Secretary for Mining and Geology, Secretary of Finance, Federal Ministry of Education and Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works & Housing.

Dr. Oyekan has also served as Chairman of the World Petroleum Congress (Nigerian Chapter). He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Fellow of the Petroleum Training Institute, and a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).