The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board – JAMB has appointed the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology Ikot Abasi (FUTIA), Akwa Ibom State and first Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nigeria, Professor Leo Daniel as the 2026 Chief External Examiner in Akwa Ibom State.
In a letter signed by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, CON, FNAL, NPOM, dated 11th December, 2025, the appointment of Professor Leo Daniel takes immediate effect.
According to the letter, the appointment of the FUTIA Vice Chancellor as the Chief External Examiner to oversee the conduct of the 2026 Mock Examination and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) in Akwa Ibom State is in recognition of his sound academic background, pedigree and integrity in the country and beyond.
The letter further reads in parts; “As a Chief External Examiner, you are to, amongst other duties and responsibilities: provide overall leadership to all examination officials in the State; ensure a hitch free conduct of the examination in the State; monitor the examination and visit centres personally at random; receive summary of reports from all centres daily; respond to challenges that are brought to your attention especially those that require critical decisions; represent the Board in the State during the period of the examination; liaise on behalf of the Board, with the State Government or any Agency or government functionaries on any matter that will facilitate the smooth conduct of the examination; appoint three proctors per centre from your institution and other tertiary institutions in the State – who must be computer literate with required academic background, responsible and be punctual at all times at their centres in order to add value to the conduct of the examination among other initiatives.”
Professor Leo Daniel is the Pioneer Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology Ikot Abasi (FUTIA), Akwa Ibom State and the first Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nigeria.
He holds a life-time record as the Nigerian scholar that designed the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for Aerospace Engineering Programmes in Nigeria on the request of the Nigeria’s National Universities Commission(NUC) earlier adopted for Tertiary Institutions education curriculum in Nigeria.
The FUTIA VC is expected to bring his global, national and sub-national academic wealth of experience to bear in his new role.
