ABUJA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially approved the appointment of Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Aina will succeed the outgoing Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, whose successful two-term tenure formally concludes on July 31, 2026. The transition marks a significant generational shift in the leadership of Nigeria's tertiary admissions regulator.
Turning 40 in July, Aina is a recognized systems expert with an extensive background in national examination frameworks, digital infrastructure design, and public-sector institutional reform. He will make history as the youngest individual to ever lead the board.
Academic Background and Systems Expertise
Professor Aina maintains an extensive background in advanced technological systems. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, followed by a Master of Science in Internet Computing and Network Security, and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing both completed at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. He is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School’s Senior Management Programme.
Aina currently holds a chair as a Professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, where he became one of the country's youngest professors in the discipline at age 39.
In a notable full-circle development, Aina’s professional connection to the examination body began early in his career, having completed his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) assignment directly within JAMB's administrative structure.
Cross-Institutional Consultancy and Professional Standing
Over the past 15 years, Aina has operated at the intersection of technology, policy design, and institutional data management. He has served as a technical consultant to several of Nigeria's primary educational evaluation bodies, including the National Examinations Council (NECO), the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), and multiple State Ministries of Education.
His consultancy work has focused primarily on improving Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems, preserving examination integrity, and optimizing digital data processing workflows.
He is a certified member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the global Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Administrative Mandate and Next Steps
The Presidency indicated that the incoming registrar is expected to leverage his practical insight into digital architecture to expand upon the institutional reforms established during the Oloyede administration.
Oloyede's tenure was widely noted for introducing the Computer-Based Test (CBT) model and generating unprecedented fiscal returns for the federal government through transparent financial tracking. Aina's mandate will center on further automating the admissions process, mitigating examination malpractice through biometric and network security, and ensuring equitable access for candidates nationwide.
Professor Aina will formally assume administrative control of the board's headquarters in Abuja on August 1, 2026, ahead of the planning cycle for the next unified tertiary matriculation exercises.
At 39, the computer engineering academic and systems expert becomes the youngest registrar in the history of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
