The University of Ilorin has announced plans to graduate 16,152 students at its 41st convocation ceremony for the 2025/2026 academic session, with 365 of them earning first-class honours.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Egbewole (SAN), disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing ahead of the three-day ceremony scheduled for October 21 to 23.
According to Egbewole, 11,213 graduands will receive first degrees, including 4,367 in the second-class upper division, 5,102 in the second-class lower division, 1,006 in the third class and 30 with pass degrees.
The graduating students also include 19 Medicine and Surgery graduates, 89 Nursing graduates, 73 Pharmacy graduates, 41 Optometry graduates, 89 Physiotherapy graduates and 32 Veterinary Medicine graduates.
Egbewole said another 4,939 graduands would receive postgraduate qualifications and diplomas.
He said “4,939 graduands would receive higher degrees and diplomas, comprising 160 postgraduate diploma recipients, 901 master’s degree graduates, 114 professional master’s degree recipients, two Master of Philosophy graduates and 251 doctorate degree recipients”.
He added that 3,511 students would graduate through the university’s Centre for Affiliated Institutions.
The Vice-Chancellor also revealed that 8,320 students had completed the university’s U-INSPIRE programme, which provides participants with 21st-century skills alongside their primary qualifications through collaborations with 10 industry partners.
He said the graduation figures reflected the institution’s focus on academic standards, professional development, research, innovation and producing graduates equipped to contribute to national and international development.
Reflecting on his tenure, Egbewole said the convocation offered an opportunity to review the university’s achievements since he assumed office on October 16, 2022, and assess the institutional legacy being prepared for his successor.
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“When I assumed office as Vice-Chancellor on 16 October 2022, my first convocation ceremony was for both the 37th and 38th. I came into office with a clear commitment: to build on the strong foundations laid by my predecessors, preserve the University’s defining strengths, and move the institution forward with renewed ambition,” he said.
“Four years on, as we prepare for the 41st Convocation, I do so with gratitude to Almighty Allah and a deep sense of fulfilment. This is not simply a review of activities; it is an account of steady, substantial progress and of the institutional capacity, opportunities, and responsibilities we will bequeath to the next Vice-Chancellor, as a legacy,” he added.
He said the university had sustained its record of stability, academic excellence and peaceful coexistence while advancing digital infrastructure, staff and student welfare, research, teaching, learning, campus development and partnerships with external organisations.
Egbewole noted that the institution’s long-term strategy remained guided by its Vision 1:10:500 target, which seeks to make Unilorin Nigeria’s leading university, place it among Africa’s top 10 institutions and secure a position among the world’s top 500 universities.
“The 41st Convocation is therefore both a celebration and a moment of reflection. It gives us an opportunity to recognise what we have accomplished, acknowledge the people whose work made it possible, and identify the foundations on which we can build the next phase of progress,” Egbewole said.
Convocation lecture, opera scheduled
The Vice-Chancellor announced that Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, would deliver the convocation lecture titled From Lecture Hall to Cabinet Room: The Journey from Academia to Public Leadership on Friday, October 23, at 9am.
He also disclosed that the university’s convocation opera, The Death of the Crown’s Escort, would be staged at the Performing and Film Arts Theatre on Tuesday, October 20, with performances at 4pm and 6pm.
Graduands from four-year programmes are scheduled to receive their degrees on Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22, while those enrolled in five-year and six-year programmes will be presented with their degrees on Friday, October 23.
President Bola Tinubu, the university’s Visitor, is expected to commission completed projects on campus at 2.30pm on Friday, according to Egbewole.
A convocation luncheon and merit awards for deserving staff members will follow at 4.30pm at the university’s Multipurpose Hall.
The activities began with a special Jumat service on Friday, October 16, followed by an interdenominational church service on Sunday, October 18. The programme will conclude with a thanksgiving service at St Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy on Sunday, October 25.