President Bola Tinubu has made a series of new appointments across key educational institutions under the Federal Ministry of Education, naming new board chairpersons, a rector, and renewing a key tenure in a move designed to reinvigorate governance and accelerate reforms across Nigeria’s technical education and knowledge management landscape.
The appointments, confirmed in a statement by the president’s Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, covered the National Examination Council, the National Board for Technical Education, the Federal Polytechnic in N’yak-Shendam in Plateau State, and the National Library of Nigeria.
Tinubu appointed Professor Modupe Adeola Adelabu as Chairman of the Governing Board of NECO while retaining the current registrar, Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi. Professor Babatunde Salako was appointed as chairman of the NBTE. Dr. Bongfa Binfa was named Rector of the Federal Polytechnic N’yak-Shendam. Professor Chinwe Veronica Anunobi’s tenure was renewed as Director and Chief Executive of the National Library of Nigeria for a final five-year term.
Adelabu, who chairs NECO, is a retired professor of educational administration who rose through the academic ranks to full professorship at Obafemi Awolowo University. She served as Deputy Governor of Ekiti State between 2013 and 2014 and chaired the NBTE between 2018 and 2021, bringing both academic distinction and institutional governance experience to her new role.
Salako, the new NBTE chairman, is a globally respected researcher with decades of experience in higher education, institutional governance, and national policy leadership. He previously served as Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research from 2016 to 2024, a period during which the institute experienced significant revitalization, expanded international collaborations, and improved research governance and infrastructure.
Binfa, from Plateau State, succeeds Dr. Mukaila Zakari Ya’u, the pioneer Rector whose tenure expired on March 16, 2026. He was appointed for a single five-year term following a competitive selection process involving public advertisement in national newspapers in September 2025. Binfa holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and previously served as Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas in Bonny.
Anunobi, whose first appointment as National Library CEO dated to September 2021, had led several institutional reforms aimed at repositioning the library as a modern technology-driven knowledge institution. These included the development and operationalization of the National Repository of Nigeria, the Newspaper and Magazine Locator, the Index and Abstract to Nigerian Newspapers, and the National Virtual Library of Nigeria. The president expected her renewed tenure to ensure continuity in these reforms and the execution of the 2025 to 2030 strategic plan.On April 10, 2026, Tinubu had separately reappointed the incumbent NBTE Executive Secretary, Professor Idris Bugaje, for a second and final five-year term.
