The University of Ibadan (UI) has appointed Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba as its 14th substantive Vice-Chancellor, positioning the renowned applied social psychologist to lead Nigeria’s premier university.
Professor Olapegba will assume office on November 1, 2026, succeeding the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, whose tenure expires on October 31, 2026.
Before his appointment, Olapegba served as the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), where he played a key role in the institution’s administrative and policy implementation processes.
The appointment followed a competitive selection process initiated by the University’s Governing Council ahead of the expiration of Professor Kayode Adebowale’s tenure on October 31, 2026. According to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Chief Adebisi Akande, CFR, the university advertised the vacancy in April 2026 in three national newspapers, attracting six applications. In line with the provisions of the University Act, a Search Team was subsequently constituted to identify other qualified candidates, resulting in two additional applications and bringing the total number of contenders to eight.
Akande disclosed that the Governing Council interviewed all eight candidates on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after which five were shortlisted based on merit for the final stage of the exercise. The Joint Council-Senate Selection Board conducted the final interviews on Wednesday, July 22, in what he described as a thorough, transparent and highly competitive process. Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba emerged as the top-ranked candidate, and the Governing Council subsequently approved the Selection Board’s recommendation, confirming his appointment as the 14th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
A distinguished academic, Professor Olapegba is a Professor of Applied Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan. He obtained his Bachelor of Science (Hons), Master of Science in Social/Personality Psychology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Ibadan. He also holds a Diploma in Borders and Borderlands Studies and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology from the Redeemed Christian Bible College.
His academic career began after a brief stint as a Research Officer with the National Examinations Council (NECO), Minna, in 2000. He joined the services of the University of Ibadan on June 1, 2000, as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Psychology.
Professor Olapegba rose rapidly through the academic ranks, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2008, Reader in 2011, and attaining the rank of full Professor on October 1, 2014.
Over the years, he has established himself as a prolific scholar with more than 100 academic publications, including books, book chapters and articles published in reputable peer-reviewed international journals.
His academic engagements extend beyond Nigeria. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, in 2011, a Postdoctoral Fellow at North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, South Africa, in 2012, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Lagos in 2023.
Professor Olapegba has also attracted several competitive research grants, including the ICP/Change Fellowship Research Grant from the Jacobson Foundation, Canada, the University of Ibadan Senate Research Grant, and served as Nigeria’s focal person for the Moment of Change (MOCHA) research project, a multinational study coordinated by the University of Bath, United Kingdom.
An accomplished academic assessor, he has served as External Examiner to several institutions, including the University of Lagos, the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, and Ekiti State University. He has also acted as professorial external assessor for universities within and outside Nigeria.
Professor Olapegba is a Fellow of the Nigerian Psychological Association (NPA) and belongs to several professional organisations, including the American Psychological Association (APA), the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), the Nigerian Association of Social Psychologists (NASP), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC).
In addition to his teaching and research accomplishments, he has made significant contributions to academic publishing. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the ASUU Journal of Social Sciences, serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, is Editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology and Counselling, and sits on the editorial board of the African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, among other scholarly journals.
His appointment marks a new chapter in the leadership of the University of Ibadan as the institution prepares for a transition following the completion of Professor Adebowale’s tenure later this year.
