The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has approved the appointment of Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi as the new substantive Vice-Chancellor of the institution.
The decision was reached during the 80th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held on Friday, November 7, 2025, under the chairmanship of Distinguished Senator Dr. Olanrewaju Tejuoso.
According to the announcement, Prof. Fawehinmi’s appointment will take effect from Tuesday, February 10, 2026, for a single, non-renewable tenure of five years.
Fawehinmi, who currently serves as the Vice-Chancellor of the Nigerian British University, will succeed Professor Mathew Adamu, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, whose tenure has been extended by the Council until February 10, 2026.
Prof. Adamu was first appointed in acting capacity on August 11, 2025, by the Federal Government.
Profile of the New Vice-Chancellor
Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi is a Professor of Clinical Anatomy and Biomedical Anthropology with a distinguished record of scholarship and institutional leadership.
He previously served as:
Head of Department of Anatomy (2005–2007; 2007–2009),
Associate Dean (2010–2012),
Dean of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences (2012–2014), and
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (2016–2020) at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
Prof. Fawehinmi has contributed extensively to both academia and professional service. He served as Secretary-General and Member of the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Medical Association (Rivers State), Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anatomical Sciences, and President of the Society of Experimental and Clinical Anatomists of Nigeria (2014–2016).
He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (FRAI) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria (FAMedS).
With over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 37 conference abstracts, Prof. Fawehinmi has made significant research contributions in anatomy and biomedical anthropology. He has supervised over 100 undergraduate projects, 15 master’s, and 13 doctoral dissertations.
Notably, he delivered the 111th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Port Harcourt in 2014, titled “Different Tailors for the Same People; Same Surgeon for Different People.”
Prof. Fawehinmi has also attracted national and international research grants and holds a Federal Government patent for his invention, the AMRG Anthropometry Chair for Dimensional Body Measurements.
He was listed in the 2021 Africa Scientist Rankings by the Alper-Doger Scientific Index and has participated in academic collaborations with institutions across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
He is married to Dr. Hadeezat O. Fawehinmi, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, and they are blessed with five children.
