The Governing Council of the University of Ilorin has explained that the Council had after rigorous selection procedure, approved the appointment of Wahab Egbewole, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and a Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence as the 12th Vice-Chancellor of the University.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University, Abidu Yazid who announced Egbewole’s appointment on Thursday evening noted that the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor of the institution will take effect from October 15, 2022 when the tenure of the incumbent VC Abdulkareem Age, a professor of Engineering ends.
Yazid said, “in accordance with the law of this University, the University of Ilorin Act CAP U7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, the tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor is due to lapse on the 15 of October 2022, the Council of the University began the process of appointing a new Vice-Chancellor as far back as March 2022.
“We advertised nationwide for applicants and also through our website. We eventually received some twenty-nine applications from this effort. Even before the returns were in, however, we mounted a special search process by which we reached out to no less than thirty-six people in Universities and other institutions, both at home and abroad.
“When the applications were received, the council constituted a selection board to assess and shortlist suitable candidate, after which 13 candidates who fulfilled the advertisement and other conditions were selected.
“We interacted with them and processed their application over a period of 4 days. We checked and double-checked their credentials, we closely questioned and probed each of them to make sure that they would support and fulfill the vision and mission of the University.
“We specifically looked for candidates who would support and be sympathetic to the needs of our students, who would interface and work smoothly with other Faculty members, who would be mindful of the needs and aspirations of our host community, as well as the candidate who, in our opinion would be truly concerned about the progress of the University and our responsibility to our Nation.”
The Council, had while wishing the new Vice-Chancellor a successful tenure, equally expressed hope towards working with him to achieve the vision of the University.
The new Vice Chancellor, Wahab Egbewole, a 61 years old, reputable academic and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, holds a Ph.D. degree in Law and Jurisprudence and has been with the University Community for the past 25 years.
Sikirat Shehu