Is-haq Oloyede: Former JAMB Registrar, Career and 2026 Handover
Professor Is-haq Olarewaju Oloyede is a Nigerian professor of Islamic Studies and university administrator who served for ten years as Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, the body that runs Nigeria’s university entrance examination. He handed over in July 2026. Before JAMB he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin. He is also the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. This updated profile covers his education, career and the end of his JAMB tenure, using a reference entry and recent news reports. The old version of this article described him as the current JAMB head; that is no longer correct.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information and source |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ishaq Olarewaju Oloyede (Wikipedia) |
| Date of birth | 10 October 1954, Abeokuta South, Ogun State (Wikipedia) |
| Education | Secondary school, Progressive Institute, Agege (1969 to 1973); B.A. Arabic, University of Ilorin (1981); doctorate in Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin (1991) (Wikipedia) |
| Professor since | 1995 (Wikipedia) |
| Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin | Elected 2007 for a five-year term (Wikipedia) |
| JAMB Registrar | Appointed 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari; handed over to Professor Segun Aina on 31 July 2026 (Wikipedia; Punch) |
| Other roles | Secretary-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, since 2013 (Wikipedia) |
Education and early career
Wikipedia says Oloyede was born on 10 October 1954 in Abeokuta South, Ogun State, attended the Progressive Institute in Agege, Lagos, from 1969 to 1973, and studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Arabic Training Centre in Agege between 1973 and 1976. He obtained a certificate in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Ibadan in 1977 and a B.A. in Arabic from the University of Ilorin in 1981. In July 1982 he became an assistant lecturer in the university’s Department of Religions, and he earned his doctorate in Islamic Studies there in 1991. Wikipedia lists several student prizes, including an Arab League prize for the best final-year certificate student in 1977.
He became a professor in 1995. Over the following decade, according to the entry, he held positions in university associations and learned societies, including a fellowship of the Islamic Academy of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
University of Ilorin and national roles
He was elected Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin in 2007 for a five-year term. Wikipedia says the university became highly ranked among African institutions during that period, though it does not name the ranking, so we cannot check the claim. He chaired the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in 2011 to 2012 and was president of the Association of African Universities from 2009 to 2011. In 2005 President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him co-secretary of the National Political Reform Conference. He became the National Coordinator and Executive Secretary of the National Inter-Religious Council in 2007 and has been Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs since 2013.
JAMB, 2016 to 2026
President Buhari appointed him JAMB Registrar in 2016. Wikipedia says he was praised for making the board a reference point for transparent public service. Supporters often point to reforms in how scores and results are processed; critics have questioned some policies. We do not rank those arguments. What is documented is a series of public episodes.
In May 2025, according to Wikipedia, Oloyede wept while apologising for technical glitches that affected the results of many UTME candidates in Lagos and the South-East. The entry puts the number of affected candidates at 379,997, who sat the exam in 65 centres across Lagos and five south-eastern states. The Guardian Nigeria also ran a headline saying that he had “no regrets” over a sanction connected with a candidate named Mmesoma, which refers to a controversy over a disputed UTME result in 2025. We only saw the headline, so we do not describe the case.
Handover to Professor Segun Aina
The State House announced that President Bola Tinubu had appointed Professor Segun Aina as the new JAMB Registrar; Wikipedia gives the date as 21 May 2026. Punch and The Guardian Nigeria reported that Oloyede formally handed over to Aina on 31 July 2026, ending a ten-year tenure. Aina is described as JAMB’s sixth registrar. Vanguard reported that Aina promised to tackle exam malpractice. We read these items in summary form from search results, so we do not quote them.
What he does now
Wikipedia and news reports do not describe a new government appointment for him after July 2026. He remains Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs according to the reference entry, which we have not seen updated since. We do not guess about his future plans.
Why his tenure drew so much attention
JAMB sits at a pressure point in Nigeria’s education system: every year millions of young people sit for places at limited numbers of universities. That makes the head of the board one of the best-known public servants in the country, and every glitch, rule change or cut-off mark becomes national news. Oloyede’s decade at the board therefore produced a long record of public statements, policies and disputes. We have not tried to summarise all of them; this page is a profile, not a history of JAMB.
Timeline
- 1954: Born in Abeokuta South, per Wikipedia.
- 1981: B.A. in Arabic from the University of Ilorin.
- 1991: Doctorate in Islamic Studies.
- 1995: Becomes a professor.
- 2007: Elected Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin.
- 2013: Becomes Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
- 2016: Appointed JAMB Registrar.
- May 2025: Apologises in tears over UTME result glitches.
- 21 May 2026: Tinubu names Segun Aina as the next Registrar.
- 31 July 2026: Hands over to Aina.
Frequently asked questions
Is Oloyede still JAMB Registrar?
No. He handed over on 31 July 2026.
Who replaced him?
Professor Segun Aina.
How old is he?
He turned 72 on 10 October 2026, if the Wikipedia birth date is correct.
What is his academic field?
Islamic Studies and Arabic.
What the JAMB role involves
JAMB conducts the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, known as UTME, which most Nigerian candidates must sit to apply for admission to universities. The Registrar is the chief executive who runs the board, oversees the exam and answers to the government and the public. Wikipedia describes the appointment as one Oloyede personally called “divine”, and says it was welcomed by many in 2016. A board with that much public contact attracts both praise and complaint, and a decade at the helm is unusually long for a public office in Nigeria.
It is also worth remembering that the appointment was a political one, made by the president, and that the end of the term was set in advance. Wikipedia says the tenure was due to end on 31 July 2026, which is the date on which the handover is reported to have taken place.
Sources
- Wikipedia (Is-haq Oloyede)
- Punch
- The Guardian Nigeria
- Vanguard
- State House, Abuja
What we could not verify
- The ranking claim for the University of Ilorin under his leadership.
- The details of the 2025 Mmesoma controversy and the sanction mentioned in a headline.
- His family and children. We found no source we trust and have left them out.
- His post-JAMB plans.
- Any net worth or salary figure.
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