Kwara State varsity gets new VC

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has appointed Professor Shaykh-Lukman Jimoh, as the new Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University.

According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, the appointment is coming after Professor Shaykh-Lukman Jimoh served in an acting capacity as the Vice Chancellor for 19 months.

The appointment follows the outcome of the screening exercise of the university’s governing council where Shaykh-Lukman placed first among the candidates.

Recall that Shaykh-Lukman served as the Acting Vice Chancellor of KWASU following the death of Professor Mohammed Mustapha-Akanbi in November 2022.

He was before then a Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University between 2020 and 2022.

Ajakaye said, ‘Shaykh-Lukman comes highly recommended to the job with decades of experience as an administrator and university scholar.

‘Shaykh-Lukman, 60, is a recipient of several academic honours, including Best Graduating Student of the Department of Religions (University of Ilorin) 1988; University Undergraduate Scholarship Award (1987/1988); University Scholar 1987/1988). He is a Fellow/member of many professional bodies, such as the Chartered Institute of Public Advocacy and Management and the Council of Experts for International Centre on Contemporary Research in Islamic Sciences (United Kingdom.)

Shaykh-Lukman hails from Igbaja in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.’

Meanwhile, the governor has also approved for the Kwara State College of Education Ilorin to transmute into the University of Education for ease of take off and other logistic advantages.

‘The government will continue ongoing efforts to transform the two other colleges of education and make them more viable in line with current realities in the sector,” according to a statement from the Government House.

‘The decision on the location of the university comes a few days after the Governor assented to the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (Establishment) and Kwara State University of Education (Establishment) Bills, effectively birthing a teaching hospital and the university of education.

‘The signing took place in Government House in Ilorin in the presence of House of Assembly Speaker Rt Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu; Majority Leader Hon. Oba AbdulKadir Magaji; and the Clerk of the House AbdulKareem Ahmed; and a member of the Committee on the Establishment of Kwara State University of Education/Special Adviser (Special Duties) Abdulrazaq Jiddah,’ the statement said.