[1] He also served as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Jigawa State, Nigeria (from 2013 to 2018).
In 1984, he performed the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Ilorin, Kwara State.
He was also awarded a Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship for a Postdoctoral Study at Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan from 1997 to 1999.
On December 6, 2024, he was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian National Universities Commission (NUC) by President Bola Tinubu.
[3][4][5] Abdullahi had a Commonwealth Scholarship for a PhD degree at the University of Liverpool and also a Japanese post-doctorate fellowship that was sponsored by the Japan Society for the promotion of science.