Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, is dead.
The renowned veterinary medicine scholar and university administrator reportedly died in the early hours of Saturday at his residence in Oloje Estate, Ilorin.
He would have turned 69 in November.
Family sources said Ambali passed away around 3 a.m., hours after attending the Isha’i prayer at a nearby mosque on Friday night.
He was not known to have been ill before his death.
His Janazah is scheduled to hold at 4 p.m. at his residence along Air Force Road in Oloje Estate, Ilorin.
Ambali served as the ninth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin between 2012 and 2017
He left behind a distinguished career that spanned more than three decades in teaching, research and university administration.
At the time of his death, he was Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of Kwara State University, a position he held after completing his tenure at the University of Ilorin.
Born on November 29, 1957, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Ambali began his education at Pakata Primary School before attending Government Secondary School, Jalingo.
He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 and later earned both a Master’s degree and a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Liverpool.
He lectured at the University of Maiduguri before joining the University of Ilorin, where he rose through the ranks to become Professor of Veterinary Medicine and later the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Ambali had also served as Chairman of the Association of West African Universities and was a Fellow of the College of Veterinary Surgeons of Nigeria.
He also mentored numerous scholars, supervised postgraduate students and published more than 80 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals.
In recognition of his contributions to education and national development, he was conferred with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).