Professor Folasade Ogunsola Emerges First Female Acting Vice-Chancellor Of UNILAG

Professor Folasade Ogunsola was elected as the acting Vice-Chancellor on Monday, August 24 making her the first female vice-chancellor in the history of the University.

Ogunsola until this announcement was the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of development services.

She defeated her opponent, a deputy vice-chancellor in charge of management services, Ben Oghojafor, with a wide margin of 135 votes against Oghojafor’s 31 among the senate members.

A total of 167 professors were accredited for voting while one vote was voided.

Ogunsola, a professor of medical microbiology and was the first female provost of the university’s college of medicine, Idi-Araba.

Her research areas have been centered on the regulation and management of viral diseases, particularly HIV.

She is also the principal investigator at AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) at the University of Lagos and has been the chairman of the Infection Control Committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Furthermore, she is the chairman of the National Association of Colleges of Medicine in Nigeria.

The Presidency over the weekend asked the Chancellor of the University, Wale Babalola, and the immediate past Vice-Chancellor,  Professor Toyin Ogundipe, to step aside over the crisis rocking the institution.

Professor Ogunsola is expected to act in the new role until the outcome of the Special Visitation Panel set up by the President, Muhammadu Buhari.