By Steve Oni, Ilorin

The Governing Council of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has announced a a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Sulyman Age Abdulkareem as the new Vice Chancellor of the University.

The tenure of the current Vice Chancellor Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali will come to an end on October 15, 2017.

Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, on Monday, the Chairman, Governing Council of the University, Dr Abdullahi J. Oyekan, said the “appointment is to take effect from October 16, 2017.”

He said: “At its meeting on Monday  August 28, 2017, the Council, in accordance with the University Act and the provisions of the universities (miscellaneous Provisions) (amendment) Act 2003,
considered the recommendation of the selection board and I am happy to announce that the Council approved the appointment of Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem as the 10th VC of the university of Ilorin.

“The Council noted  that the tenure of the VC,  Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, OON, will come to an end on October 15, 2017, Council commenced the process for appointment of a new VC by announcing the vacancy in two national Newspapers on Friday, April 14, 2017. The advertisement was
also placed on the University website and the University weekly bulletin.

“Interested applicants were given six weeks to submit their applications with a closing date of May 26,2017. Immediately thereafter, Council met and constituted the joint Council /Senate selection board as well as the search team for the appointment of VC.

“The search team visited universities in various geographical zones of the country and contacted senior academic staff in these institutions who might not have applied for the position. Subsequently, the selection board considered all the applications  received and shortlisted candidates based on the various parameters indicated in the advertisement.

“The selection board later interacted with the shortlisted candidates over a period of three days from Wednesday August 23 to August 25,2017. At the end of the exercise,  the selection board forwarded its recommendation to Council for further consideration.”

Prof Abdulkareem, who hails from Oro, Irepodun local government area of Kwara state was the immediate past Vice Chancellor of Al-Hikma University, Ilorin.

He was born in 1954, and attended the Government Secondary School, Ilorin for both his secondary education and higher school certificate (HSC) from 1968 to 1974 which he undertook with the Kwara
state government scholarship.

He later got the the Federal Government Scholarship for his university education at the University of Detriot, Detroit, Michigan, USA between 1975 and 1780.

At the end of the course, he was awarded the Mche, Bche (Chemical Engineering) specialising in heterogeneous Catalysis/reaction engineering. From 1985 to 1988, he was awarded the United States of America National Science Foundation Fellowship for his doctoral programme in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville, USA. He obtained the engineering-in-training certificate of the state of Minnesota, USA in 1991 and became a registered engineer of the Nigerian Society of Engiineers in 2002 as well as COREN registered engineer in 2004.

Prof Abdulkareem was engaged as a lecturer by by the Detroit Board of Education, Detroit, Michigan, USA from August 1984 to August 1985; and a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Louisville, Kentucky from September 1985 to August 1988.

He joined the services of the University of Ilorin as a senior lecturer in 1996 and rose to become a professor in September 2005