Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi today formally assumed duty as the 8th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja.
He took over from Professor Mathew Adamu, who has served in acting capacity since Thursday11 August 2025.
Fawehinmi was appointed by the eleventh Governing Council during its 80th Extraordinary Meeting held on Friday 7 November 2025, after a rigorous and transparent selection process.
In his remarks shortly after resuming, the new vice chancellor expressed appreciation to the Council, Senate, Management, staff, students, and alumni for their support and warm reception.
He pledged to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to strengthen academic excellence, research output, innovation, institutional stability, and the overall student experience.
“The University will, under my leadership, actively explore opportunities to collaborate and secure more funding to strengthen the University, expand our academic and executive programmes as well as widen access to education within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and beyond. It is my hope that with your support, this institution will achieve its vision of becoming a world class University,” he said.
Staff, students, and members of the University community who interacted with the new Vice-Chancellor expressed hope about his appointment, noting his reputation for discipline, academic substance, and administrative experience.
Fawehinmi is a highly respected scholar of clinical anatomy and biomedical anthropology, with over three decades of academic, research, and administrative leadership at national and international levels.
He holds a BMedSc degree in Anatomy and MBBS degree from the University of Port-Harcourt, an MSc in Medical Anthropology from the University of London and Doctor of Medicine (MD), the highest academic qualification in the medical profession. He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland( FRAI), Fellow, Anatomical Society of Nigeria (FASN), Fellow, Experimental and Clinical Anatomists of Nigeria,(FECAN) and Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria (FAMedS).
His professional qualifications, scholarly contributions, and global engagement are well recognised and publicly documented. They reflect a robust and well-established scholarly career recognised within and outside Nigeria.
