President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday approved six new appointments in the education sector, naming Modupe Adelabu as chairman of the governing board of the National Examination Council and Babatunde Salako as chairman of the National Board for Technical Education governing board.
The president also retained Ibrahim Wushishi as registrar of NECO and reappointed Idris M. Bugaje as executive secretary of NBTE for a second and final five-year term. At the National Library of Nigeria, Chinwe Veronica Anunobi was given a final term of five years, while Bongfa Binfa was named rector of the Federal Polytechnic N’yak-Shendam.
Adelabu returns to a familiar brief. Bayo Onanuga said she was a former deputy governor of Ekiti State between 2013 and 2014 and headed NBTE from 2018 to 2021. Salako, he said, is “a globally respected researcher with decades of experience in higher education, institutional governance and national policy leadership.”
The most closely watched of the new names is Binfa, who will serve a single five-year term at the polytechnic. His appointment followed a recruitment process advertised in national dailies in September 2025, and he succeeds Mukaila Zakari Ya’u, the institution’s pioneer rector. Binfa holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and previously served as deputy rector for academics at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, after lecturing at the Federal Polytechnic Idah.
The changes are part of a broader shake-up in the education sector. Onanuga said the president approved the renewal of Anunobi’s tenure as chief executive of the National Library of Nigeria “for a final term of five years,” noting that she was first appointed on 2nd September, 2021. He said the renewal is meant to support ongoing reforms, the National Library Headquarters project and the institution’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan.
The NBTE succession was effectively settled earlier. Bugaje had already been reappointed on April 10 for a second and final five-year term, giving the technical education agency continuity at the top as Tinubu resets leadership across key institutions. The latest moves leave the government with seasoned hands in NECO, NBTE, the National Library and a new rector chosen through an open recruitment process at Federal Polytechnic N’yak-Shendam.
