President Bola Tinubu has appointed Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Saddiq Ismaila Kaita (rtd.) as the new pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing council of Bayero University, Kano (BUK).

Legit.ng reports that a statement by Bayo Onanuga, one of the presidential spokespersons, disclosed this update on Friday, August 1.

New governing council chair for Kano varsity

AVM Kaita replaces Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, who also serves as the Federal Housing Authority's (FHA) chairman.

Gawuna is a Nigerian health personnel, businessman, and politician. In May 2022, he became the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 Kano state election.

Gawuna is an ally of Abdullahi Ganduje, the resigned former national chairman of the APC.

President Tinubu made the change purportedly to enable Gawuna to concentrate on his position at the FHA.

Snapshot of Saddiq Ismaila Kaita

Before retiring from the Nigerian Air Force, AVM Saddiq Ismaila Kaita was Director of Strategy at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and Chief of Defence Transformation and Innovation.

The statement by Onanuga said AVM Kaita is known for his contributions to training and standardisation within the Air Force.

About Bayero University, Kano

The Bayero University Kano is a university situated in Kano, Kano state.

It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to a university. It is the first university in Kano state, North-western Nigeria.

Bayero University initially was Ahmadu Bello College. The college was named after the Premier of Northern Nigeria, late Ahmadu Bello.

It was founded in January 1960 by the Northern Nigeria ministry of education headed by Isa Kaita, to prepare senior secondary certificate holders for General Certificate of Education (GCE) and A-level in Arabic, Hausa, Islamic History, Islamic studies and English Literature.

Upon the establishment of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna state, Ahmadu Bello College was renamed to Abdullahi Bayero College, after Abdullahi Bayero, Emir of Kano, and soon thereafter it became a faculty, admitting its first set of 10 undergraduate students for a B.A. degree programme of Ahmadu Bello University. This first set graduated in 1966.