Ado-Ekiti — Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has approved the appointment of Professor Patrick Oladipo Aina as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode yesterday, the governor said Prof. Aina came first among the 21 candidates that contested for the position, and that he was recommended by the Governing Council for approval. The statement added that the appointment is with immediate effect.

The new vice chancellor will take over from the acting Vice Chancellor, Dada Adelowo, a Professor of Comparative Studies, who was appointed following the sack of Prof Dipo Kolawole by the government. Our correspondent reports that Prof. Aina is a Professor of Soil Science and was born on November 22, 1949, in Iloro Ekiti, Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State. He had his elementary education at St. Joseph's Primary School, Usi-Ekiti, between 1956 and1961, after which he moved to Notre Dame Secondary School, Usi-Ekiti. He graduated with a First Class degree in Agriculture from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1972 and later bagged a Ph.D in Soil Physics from the Ohio State University (USA) in 1977.

He started his academic career as a Graduate Assistant in 1972, and rose to the rank of Professor of Soil Physics in 1989 in the Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Aina is married to Professor Olabisi Aina, a professor of Sociology, and they are blessed with three children.