By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Tinubu has approved a new set of appointments across key institutions in Nigeria’s education sector, including the National Examinations Council (NECO), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the Federal Polytechnic in N’yak-Shendam, Plateau State, and the National Library of Nigeria.
According to a State House press release issued on Wednesday, the President appointed Modupe Adeola Adelabu as Chairman of the Governing Board of National Examinations Council, while retaining Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi as Registrar of the examination body.
In the technical education subsector, the President named Babatunde Salako as Chairman of the National Board for Technical Education. Earlier this month, the President had also reappointed Idris M Bugaje as Executive Secretary of the board for a second and final five-year term.
For the Federal Polytechnic, N’yak-Shendam in Plateau State, Bongfa Binfa was appointed Rector for a single term of five years, succeeding Mukaila Zakari Ya’u, whose tenure ended on March 16, 2026.
Binfa, who hails from Plateau State, holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and previously served as Deputy Rector (Academic) at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny. He also lectured in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah.
Meanwhile, the President renewed the tenure of Chinwe Veronica Anunobi as Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria for a final five-year term. Anunobi was first appointed on September 2, 2021.
The presidency noted that under her leadership, the National Library has undergone significant reforms aimed at transforming it into a technology-driven knowledge hub. These include the development of the National Repository of Nigeria, the Newspaper and Magazine Locator, and the National Virtual Library.
She has also overseen progress on the long-delayed National Library Headquarters project in Abuja, including plans to migrate heritage collections from the institution’s 34 state branches to the new facility.
The President expressed confidence that the renewal of Anunobi’s tenure would ensure continuity in ongoing reforms, facilitate the completion of the headquarters project, and support the implementation of the library’s 2025–2030 strategic plan.
Providing background on the new NECO board chairman, the statement described Adelabu as a retired professor of educational administration and a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State. She previously served as Chairman of the NBTE between 2018 and 2021.
Similarly, Salako, the new NBTE chairman, was described as a distinguished academic and globally respected researcher. He served as Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research from 2016 to 2024, a period marked by expanded research output, improved governance, and strengthened international collaborations.
The President said the appointments are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen governance, improve institutional capacity, and advance reforms in the education sector.
