ILORIN, Nigeria — The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), and the broader West African academic community are mourning the sudden passing of Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, OON, the distinguished 9th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin.
The highly revered veterinary medicine scholar and administrator passed away in the early hours of Saturday, June 6, 2026, at his private residence in the Oloje Estate axis of Ilorin, Kwara State. He was 68 years old and would have celebrated his 69th birthday in November.
Okay News reports that the news of his demise was formally announced by the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, through a dispatch handled by the institution’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Kunle Akogun. According to close family sources, Professor Ambali had peacefully attended the congregational Isha’i prayers at his local neighborhood mosque on Friday night and showed no prior signs of physical illness before transitioning in his sleep at approximately 3:00 a.m. His Janazah (Islamic funeral prayer) was held later Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. along Air Force Road, Oloje Estate, drawing hundreds of colleagues, state officials, and community sympathizers.
Until his passing, Professor Ambali served with distinction as the Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete—a role he transitioned into after completing a highly successful five-year tenure as Vice-Chancellor of UNILORIN between 2012 and 2017. His vice-chancellorship is widely credited with cementing the institution’s long-standing reputation as Nigeria’s most stable, strike-free, and highly sought-after federal university. Beyond his campus duties, Ambali was a formidable national asset for JAMB, serving as the Chairman of the Board’s Virtue Vanguard Group, where he engineered key quality assurance and surveillance protocols that significantly enhanced the administrative transparency and structural integrity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Reacting to the monumental loss, JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, along with the management board, issued a statement praising Ambali as an exceptional patriot, mentor, and unwavering advocate for ethical standards in higher education. Concurrently, the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), speaking through National Publicity Secretary Mallam Suleiman Shuaib Dagbo, described the loss as a devastating blow that diminishes the entire emirate, extending deep condolences to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Born on November 29, 1957, in Ilorin, Professor Ambali’s storied academic journey began at Pakata Primary School before he proceeded to Government Secondary School, Jalingo. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981, and subsequently bagged both his Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. Over a stellar 30-year career, he rose to become a Professor of Veterinary Medicine in 1995, served as the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at UNILORIN, chaired the Association of West African Universities (AWAU), and authored over 80 peer-reviewed papers. In recognition of his selfless contributions to educational advancement and national development, he was decorated by the Federal Government with the national honor of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
