Mr. Chris Jibreel Maiayaki has been appointed Deputy Executive Secretary (DES), Administration, by the Board of the National Universities Commission Chaired by Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, sequel to his nomination by the Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL.
His appointment took effect from 1st October, 2020. In his letter of appointment dated 29th September, 2020, the Executive Secretary said the appointment is in recognition of his performance, loyalty, commitment to duty and high sense of responsibility.
Until his elevation, he was the Director, Executive Secretary’s Office (DESO), where he was deployed in 2017 by Professor Rasheed, where he ran his immediate office as well as the NUC Board Secretariat.
Mr. Maiyaki graduated, with a B.Sc (Hons) degree in International Relations from the famous Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, Master of Arts (M.A degree) in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Jos, Plateau State and has received several trainings (within and outside Nigeria) which pertained to International Affairs and Educational Planning, Accreditation and Quality Assurance, Partnerships and Collaboration, Procurement & project Management, Computer Application in Human Resource Management, all tailored around the specifics of Higher Education Management, Regulation and Knowledge diplomacy, among others.
He began his public service career spanning well over 30 years ago, as a young Administrative Officer, precisely in 1990 with the Policy &Administrative arm of the Cabinet office located in the Governor’s office in Jos, Plateau State.
He, however, moved to the National Universities Commission on inter-service transfer in 1993, as Personnel/ Administrative Officer I, in 1993, where on assumption of duty was appointed the Administrative Secretary for the World Bank Project Implementation Unit based in the NUC, which oversaw the execution of the USD120m Credit facility for twenty participating federal universities.
At the expiration of the project which was adjudged to be one of the best administered in the World Bank Education portfolio in Nigeria, Mr. Maiyaki was redeployed from 1996, to work in various arms of the Commission where he has fulfilled various secondary and primary leadership function positions, becoming Deputy Director Special Duties &Protocol and Chief of Staff to the Executive Secretary between November 2009 to October 2014, culminating to his promotion in October 2014, to the rank of a Substantive Director.
His entire work in NUC also covered participation in various Adhoc committee and panels set up to address specific problems/ challenges in the Nigerian University System pursuant to NUC’s over-arching mandate in policy formulation & implementation, general coordination ®ulation of university education in Nigeria. He has also participated actively, in recent internationalization efforts and the promotion of bilateral cooperation between the NUC, Development Partners and diplomatic missions located in Nigeria and beyond.
Following his resourcefulness, Mr. Maiyaki coordinated the Secretariat which superintended the linkages with Experts and Academics in the Diaspora Scheme (LEADS), under which auspices, Experts and Academics of Nigerian extraction based overseas, were engaged back home in Teaching, Research and Community Action. He has also till date, continued to play an important role in the Secretariat for the implementation of the NYSC Presidential Honours Scholarship Scheme as well as the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development PRESSID).
Between 2000 and 2001, Mr. Maiyaki also served on the Secretariat of the Government Negotiating Team set up to negotiate thorny issues with the staff unions associated with the universities. Just recently, he was part of the Adhoc Committee that developed the blueprint for open and distance learning, The Committee on A Unified Audit Manual for Universities, NUC at 51, The National Steering Committee on Open Educational Resources (OER), The Strategy Advisory Committee on the Revitalisation of University Education, The FME/NUC National Education Summit.
Other notable engagements include most of the Preparatory Activities towards UNESCO and UN General Conferences/ Assembly, International Bureau for Education, respectively and the administration of various UNESCO fellowships and regular calls for nominations by prospective scholars.
Mr. Maiyaki has developed solid organizational, managerial, negotiation and administrative skills at the NUC, where he at some point, served as the Special Assistant to the erstwhile Executive Secretary, Professor Peter Okebukola, OFR, Senior Special Assistant and subsequently Chief of Staff to the immediate past Executive Secretary, Professor Julius A Okojie, OON.
In the course of duty, he was named the Executive Secretary’s/Secretariat Best Worker of the year 2003, among several other commendation letters from NUC’s Development Partners and key stakeholders across the board.
In addition, he has over the past 15 years, successfully anchored in liaison with the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy, the International Visitor Leadership Programme for newly-appointed Vice-Chancellors who at each stage, undertook on the spot assessment of the challenges of Higher Education, in the United States of America, given that country’s large system. He has also facilitated several study visits, meetings and conferences, aimed at improving the executive capacities of university managers in conjunction with the British Council, UNESCO, African Union, ECOWAS, Association of Commonwealth Universities, and European Union Delegation to Nigeria, Quality Assurances Agency, Oxford Academy of Education and Development as well as the Turkish Higher Education Community, among others.
Mr. Maiyaki currently chairs two important Management Adhoc Committees which have been commissioned to Identify and digitise Legacy Documents from the inception of the NUC as well as to review the Staff Conditions of Service.
The new Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration is married with three children, widely travelled and speaks several international languages.