Abubakar Rasheed hands over to Chris Maiyaki as acting NUC executive secretary

Abubakar Rasheed, the immediate-past executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), has handed over to Chris Maiyaki.

Rasheed recently stepped down as the executive secretary of the commission, citing his desire to return to the classroom as reason for the decision.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Abuja on Friday, Rasheed said he secured necessary approval from President Bola Tinubu to step down with effect from June 30, 2023.

He said Maiyaki — who is the most senior officer in the commission — will operate in acting capacity until Tinubu appoints a substantive executive secretary.

“Due to my desire to spend my active years in the classroom, I decided to write the president through the federal ministry of education three years before my tenure expired,” NAN quoted him as saying

“Upon receiving the approval, I wrote to the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano to return to classroom with effect from July 1, 2023

“I want to thank everyone for your faith and confidence in NUC, I appreciate you for supporting the management of NUC because I am lucky to have worked with confident staff.”

In his remark, Maiyaki hailed the outgoing executive secretary for his achievements in office and promised to do his best to consolidate his legacies.

“We will sustain that momentum as we believe the future will throw up challenges in digital atmosphere we are. We will continue the reinvention of pivoted role of university education,” he said.

Rasheed was appointed as the executive secretary of the NUC by former President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2016.

He was reappointed by Buhari in 2021.