History

The Directorate of Computer Services and Information Technology was formed through the merger of three existing IT departments at the University: the Computer Centre, the Management Information System Unit (MIS), and the Unilorin Nigeria Universities Network Office (Unilorin NUNet).

1. Computer Centre: Headed by Mr. T. I. Aiyelabegan as Director.
2. Management Information System Unit (MIS): Led by Mrs. O.V. Mejabi as Acting Head.
3. Unilorin NUNet: Directed by Dr. T.S. Ibiyemi of Electrical Engineering, who served as Head and Chairman.

Each unit originally reported to separate boards. However, these boards were dissolved following the implementation of a new ICT Policy and Strategic Plan in 2001/2002 by the University through the Academic Planning Unit.

In 2002, the office of the Director of Academic Planning Unit convened the first meeting of COMSIT as a merger, with Mr. T. I. Aiyelabegan as the Director of the Directorate, Mrs. J. Olorunfemi as Head of the Computer Centre, Mrs. O.V. Mejabi as Head of MIS, and Engr. Sogo Popoola as Head of the Unilorin NUNet office. Post-merger, these units evolved to meet the IT demands of the University community.

To establish a robust IT team and foster an ICT-driven academic environment at the University of Ilorin, all IT staff from academic departments, laboratories, centres, and units were integrated into COMSIT in alignment with the ICT Policy and Strategic Plan 2003-2008.

• The Computer Centre continued its training programs and technical support for academic laboratories.
• The MIS Unit developed applications and deployed a portal system for students and staff in 2007/2008.
• The NUNet Office, known for supporting email services through dial-up technologies, registered a fully qualified domain name for the University in 2003, leading to the launch of web services and campus-wide networking.

The merger achieved remarkable success. The portal development, the first of its kind in any Nigerian institution, brought Unilorin to the limelight. The University was ranked the best in the country three times and placed as runners-up in subsequent years by Webometrics.info and 4icu.org (now Unirank) between 2008 and 2014.

Subsequently, a Helpdesk Unit was established to provide technical support to staff and students on the use of the portal and to act as a computer emergency response or computer security incident response team (CERT/CSIRT).

S/N      Directors up to date                                  Duration

1.         Prof. Rasheed Gbenga Jimoh  1^st August 2023 till date

2.         Prof. Dupe Ademola-Popoola 21st December, 2020- 31^st July, 2023

3.         Prof O.V. Mejabi               1st August, 2020 to 20th December, 2020

4.         Prof. Yinusa Adediran                  1st August, 2019 to 31st July, 2020

5.         Prof. Mudasiru Olalere Yusuf 1st August, 2017 to 31st July, 2019

6.         Prof. Musa I. Ahmed              1st August, 2014 to 31st July, 2017

7.         Prof. Isaac Abiodun Adimula 1st August, 2011 to 31st July, 2014

8.         Mr. Taiye Issa Aiyelabegan                1st August, 1997 to 31st July, 2012