A Professor of Computer Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Segun Aina, has been appointed the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
JAMB is responsible for the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the entrance test for admission seekers into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
His appointment was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the federal government and signed by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The 39-year-old academic, who hails from Otan Ayegbaju in Boluwaduro Local Government Area of Osun State, is the son of an emeritus professor of Technical and Vocational Education (TVE), and Chairman of the Governing Board of Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC), Olu Aina.
According to the statement, the new helmsman is expected to take over from the incumbent registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor, who is expected to complete his second term of five years on 31 July. The handover will coincide with Mr Aina’s 40th birthday.
“Professor Aina, who will be 40 in July, is a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure, and public-sector institutional reform,” Mr Onanuga wrote.
The statement further noted that “President Tinubu expects Professor Aina to bring to bear his vast experience, knowledge and practical insight into the operations of the Board, to take the critical educational organisation beyond the laudable heights achieved by his predecessor.”
About new appointee
An accomplished Computer Engineer, academic and entrepreneur, Mr Aina was appointed a professor at the age of 39 by OAU, becoming one of the youngest professors in his field in Nigeria.
A distinguished scholar, he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, United Kingdom, in 2008, followed by a Master of Science (MSc) in Internet Computing and Network Security from Loughborough University in 2009.
Mr Aina earned his doctorate (PhD) in Digital Signal Processing, also from Loughborough University.
Beyond academia, in 2010, Mr Aina co-founded Fluid Click Solutions Ltd, an IT services and engineering project management company, as part of his efforts to translate research into real-world solutions. The company’s interests span EduTech, Agriculture, Hospitality, Capacity Building, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The new appointee had also earlier served as a member of the pioneer Governing Council of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere, Ekiti, and as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Queensland Academy, Isolo, Lagos.
He is a member of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
In his hometown, Mr Aina serves as the National Financial Secretary of the Otan Ayegbaju Progressive Union (OAPU).
Like father, like son
The new JAMB helmsman takes after his now 85-year-old father, who served as the pioneer Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB). He held this position for 10 years between 1992 and 2002.
As a professor of Technical and Vocational Education, the octogenarian also served as the Chairman of the Osun State Board for Vocational and Technical Education between 2004 and 2011, and he was reappointed in 2016, serving in the same capacity to date.
An associate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and a personal friend of the party’s pioneer National Chairman, Adebisi Akande, the emeritus Professor Aina was in 2025 appointed the Chairman of the Governing Board of NUC by President Tinubu.
Meanwhile, at a time his son was appointed a professor, the senior Aina, a pioneer lecturer of technical and vocational education at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, was also honoured with the award of Doctor of Technical and Vocational Education and Training by the Obafemi Awolowo University.
The octogenarian is a recipient of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect the relationship between Olu Aina, emeritus professor, and the All Progressive Congress (APC).
