From Femi Oyelola Kaduna
The Governing Council of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has approved the appointment of Prof. Auwal Kasim of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as the new Provost of the Institute.
The appointment, which was contained in a letter dated 28th December 2023 and signed by the Registrar of the Institute, Air Commodore Mohammed Sheriff Lawal, followed Prof. Kasim’s success at the interview for the top job.
Our correspondent reports that the appointment, which is for a single non-renewable tenure of five years, is in line with the provisions of the Institute’s Laws and Regulations governing the conditions of service for academic staff.
According to the letter, Kasim’s appointment is with effect from 8th January 2024.
He is taking over from Prof. Muhammad Dauda, also a staff of Ahmadu Bello University from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who had just finished serving his tenure as Provost of the Institute for five years.
Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kabiru Bala, congratulated Kasim on his emergence as the Institute’s Provost and wished him God’s guidance in the discharge of the national assignment.
The Air Force Institute of Technology is a tertiary institution with a blend of military and civilian staff and students accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
The Institute is also a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approved training organization for the engineering of the Initial at Aircraft License Preparatory Course (ILPC).
Until the new appointment, Prof. Kasim was the Director, of Engineering Services, at Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy Services (ABUCONS) Nigeria Limited.
Kasim, who has over two decades of academic experience in Ahmadu Bello University, also served as the Head of Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering during which he initiated and supervised the establishment of mining engineering.
Kasim, whose research interest is on corrosion/degradation of materials, materials development and characterization, taught and supervised many students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
He is a Fellow of the Nigeria Corrosion Association (NiCA) and Nigerian Metallurgical Society (NMS) as well as a Member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), and Nigeria Society of Mining Engineers (NSME).
