 Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the then executive governor of Kaduna State and Visitor to the university, appointed Professor Idris Abdulkadir to be the pro-chancellor and chairman of the Governing Council while Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo was appointed the first vice-chancellor.Professor Aminu S. Mikailu, took over from Professor Sambo as second vice-chancellor when the latter was appointed by the Federal Government to head the Nigerian Energy's Commission.Professor E.M. Abdurrahman was the third VC, Professor W.B Quirix was appointed as the fourth VC before Professor Muhammad Tanko who took over from January, 2017.