Tinubu appoints 39-years-old Professor Segun Aina as new JAMB registrar

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), making him the youngest person to hold the position in the board’s history.

Aina, who will turn 40 in July, is a professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, with expertise in digital infrastructure, national examination systems, and institutional reform. He will take over from Professor Ishaq Oloyede, whose tenure expires on July 31, 2026.

The appointment was announced on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Aina holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, an MSc in Internet Computing and Network Security, and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing, both from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. He has also completed the Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School.

The Presidency said he has over 15 years of experience advising federal and state governments on digital transition, institutional reforms, and system design, and has previously consulted for examination bodies, including the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), on ICT systems and examination integrity.

Tinubu said he expects the new registrar to build on the work of his predecessor. “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,” the statement read.

What Oloyede built and the challenges facing JAMB

Oloyede assumed office on August 9, 2016, appointed by then-President Muhammadu Buhari. Over ten years, he oversaw a transformation of an institution that had previously faced concerns around inefficiency, financial accountability, and examination malpractice.

He introduced full Computer-Based Testing, biometric authentication, the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System, e-ticketing, e-slips, and CCTV monitoring across examination centres, all designed to minimise human interference and curb malpractice at scale. He also introduced the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) to automate university admissions and reduce the manipulation that previously plagued the process.

On the financial side, the turnaround was stark. Between 2016 and 2026, JAMB generated and remitted over ₦20.7 billion in operating surplus to the federal government, while also funding developmental projects from internally generated revenue, a complete reversal from a period when the board was widely seen as a drain rather than a contributor to public finances.

Read also: JAMB’s 2026 policy meeting: 7 key decisions candidates should know

The challenges Aina inherits, however, are real. The 2026 UTME was marked by widespread technical failures that left candidates unable to sit their exams across multiple centres, triggering public anger and a national conversation about the reliability of computer-based examination infrastructure at scale.

The incident exposed the gap between the digital ambitions of examination reform and the ground-level reality of patchy power supply, inadequate equipment, and overstretched CBT centres across the country.

For Aina, whose entire professional identity is built around digital infrastructure, that challenge may be the first defining test of his tenure, and the clearest signal of whether JAMB’s next decade will consolidate or stumble on the foundation Oloyede spent ten years laying.