JAMB Registrar Oloyede to Step Down After 2026 Admissions Policy Meeting

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, announced on Monday that the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions will be the final one overseen by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede.
Speaking at the meeting in Abuja, Ahmad said Oloyede’s 10-year tenure had “fundamentally changed the institution.”

“This is the last policy meeting you will be holding. He has been here for ten years. He has done a lot of good things. Ten years is a long time but he is not tired,” Ahmad said. “We will just give you a resting period to relax a bit and then we will just call you back.”

Oloyede assumed office as JAMB Registrar on Aug. 9, 2016. Within three years he overhauled the board’s operations and finances. Remittances to the Federal Government rose sharply from less than ₦50 million total between 1978 and 2016 to ₦7.8 billion in 2017 alone.

From 2016 to 2026, JAMB remitted ₦20.7 billion in operating surplus and funded physical and human development projects from internally generated revenue. The improved finances enabled the Federal Government to cut tertiary institution application fees by 30%.

Before joining JAMB, Oloyede was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin from Oct. 2007 to Oct. 2012. He also chaired the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors from 2011 to 2012.

A professor of Islamic Studies since 1995, he has published close to 100 papers and participated in academic conferences worldwide.

His service has earned several national honours, including Officer of the Federal Republic in 2014, Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2022, the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in 2019, and the Nigeria Excellence Award in Public Service in the Education Category in 2022.

Oloyede is 71 years old, married, and has four adult children and grandchildren.