By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
55th Governing Council of the African Regional Institute for Geospatial
Information Science and Technology (AFRIGIST), Ile-Ife, has appointed Professor
Joseph Oloukoi of the Republic of Benin as the next Deputy Executive Director,
effective March 1, 2026.
Professor
Oloukoi will succeed Surveyor Abdoulaye Belem of Burkina Faso, whose tenure is
set to conclude at the end of February 2026.
A
Professor of Geospatial Information Science with specialization in cartography,
geographic information systems and remote sensing, Professor Oloukoi brings
extensive academic and institutional experience to the position. Prior to his
appointment, he served as Head of the Advancement and Linkages Unit at
AFRIGIST. He previously held the positions of Dean of Academics and Research
from 2015 to 2023 and Head of the Department of Cartography between 2012 and
2015.
With
more than two decades of experience in teaching, research, programme
development and advocacy, Professor Oloukoi is widely recognized for his
commitment to effective and sustainable capacity building in geospatial science
across Africa.
AFRIGIST,
formerly known as the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys, was
established in 1972 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa. The institute is located on the campus of Obafemi
Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and operates as a bilingual English and
French intergovernmental institution with full diplomatic accreditation in the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
