JAMB’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, changed hands on Friday as Segun Aina, a Professor of Computer Engineering, formally took over as Registrar from Ishaq Oloyede, whose ten year, two term tenure closed on 31 July 2026.
At 40, Aina becomes the youngest person ever to lead the Board, a distinction that traces back to his appointment by President Bola Tinubu on 21 May, when he was still 39.
Long before the appointment, Aina already had ties to the organisation he now runs. During his National Youth Service Corps posting in 2010, he worked inside JAMB as a Computer Systems Engineer and Analyst, an experience that exposed him early to national admissions processing and data driven systems. That grounding carried through more than 15 years of work with other examination bodies, including the National Examinations Council and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, as well as several state ministries of education.
His academic credentials were built almost entirely in computing and engineering. Aina studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Kent for his first degree, then went on to Loughborough University for an MSc in Internet Computing and Network Security and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing. A Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School rounded out his preparation for institutional leadership. He currently holds a professorship in Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where he was counted among the youngest Nigerians to reach that rank in the discipline.
Taking the podium for his inaugural address, Aina committed to protecting the integrity of JAMB’s examinations and confirmed that new investment would go toward the technology used to detect and prevent malpractice. His message for anyone planning to game the system was blunt: their business belonged in the wrong institution.
He also confirmed that the Board’s collaboration with security agencies would continue as part of efforts to safeguard the credibility of matriculation exams.
What his appointment signals for candidates may matter more than the history it makes. With a career built on systems design and computer based testing, Aina’s leadership points toward continued investment in the digital infrastructure that underpins UTME delivery nationwide, an area many in the education sector see as key to cutting down malpractice and smoothing the exam experience for millions of Nigerian students.
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