168 BAG FIRST CLASS AS UNN GRADUATES 12,895 STUDENTS
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By; Sunmola Ganiyat
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), will graduate 12,895 students, including 168 First Class graduates, during its 55th Convocation Ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing ahead of the commencement of the institution’s convocation activities.
According to him, 10,641 students will receive first degrees and diplomas, while 2,944 will be awarded postgraduate qualifications, comprising 1,390 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, 1,340 Master’s degrees, and 214 Postgraduate Diplomas.
“This year’s convocation celebrates a harvest of 12,895 graduands. Of these, 10,641 will receive First Degrees and Diplomas, including 168 First Class honours graduates,” Ortuanya said.
The Vice-Chancellor also announced that the university would confer honorary doctorate degrees on the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, High Chief Williams Agbo, Arc. Dr. Kaycee Kelechi Orji and Dr. William Franklyn Richardson.
In addition, the institution will confer the title of Professor Emeritus on two retired academics, Prof. Peter-Jazzy Ezeh and Prof. Boniface Obinna Okere.
Ortuanya said the convocation lecture, scheduled for Thursday, July 23, would be delivered by the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, while a former Vice-Chancellor of UNN and current Vice-Chancellor of the University on the Niger, Prof. Ositadinma Nebo, would chair the event.
Highlighting achievements since assuming office in August 2025, the Vice-Chancellor said the university secured approval to increase its admission quota for Medicine from 180 to 400 and Dentistry from 15 to 60 following accreditation by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
He also disclosed that the National Universities Commission (NUC) approved the unbundling of the Department of Mass Communication into five specialised degree programmes, while programmes in Agribusiness, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Industrial Arts, and Criminology and Security Studies received full accreditation.
According to him, UNN has intensified efforts to improve digital learning and research through the digitalisation of its Central Library and the establishment of a Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Laboratory.
On infrastructure, Ortuanya said several projects are ongoing across the university’s campuses, including the reconstruction of internal roads, rehabilitation of student hostels and construction of additional facilities at the College of Medicine, Ituku-Ozalla.
He listed Eni-Njoku, Eyo-Ita, Nkrumah and Odili hostels among those undergoing renovation, adding that work has also resumed on the long-abandoned Zik’s Flats and the Senate Building.
The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that 1,984 staff members had been promoted within the past 11 months, including 25 academics elevated to the rank of professor.
He added that the university had expanded its international collaborations with institutions in Sweden, Taiwan, China, Belarus, the United States and South Africa to strengthen research, staff exchange and academic development.
Ortuanya said the ongoing reforms are aimed at repositioning the University of Nigeria as a globally competitive institution and called on alumni, development partners and other stakeholders to support its continued growth.
“Our vision is to reposition the University of Nigeria as a globally competitive institution distinguished by excellence in teaching, cutting-edge research, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and transformational community engagement,” he said.
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