LASU TO GRADUATE 20,604 STUDENTS AT 29TH, 30TH COMBINED CONVOCATION

By Aishat Momoh.  O.

Lagos State University (LASU) will graduate a total of 20,604 students across the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions as the institution prepares to hold its 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremonies.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Distinguished Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, mni, NPOM, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press conference held at the Senate Chamber of the Babatunde Raji Fashola Senate Building, LASU Main Campus, Ojo.

The combined convocation, according to the Vice-Chancellor, will bring together graduates from diploma, first-degree and postgraduate programmes for a week-long programme of academic, cultural and social activities.

Giving a breakdown of the graduating students, Olatunji-Bello said 947 diploma students graduated in the 2024/2025 academic session, while 7,621 students completed first-degree programmes during the same period.

Of the first-degree graduates for the 2024/2025 session, she said 262 obtained First Class honours, while 3,155 graduated with Second Class Upper Division, 3,439 with Second Class Lower Division, 622 with Third Class and 37 with a pass. A further 106 students graduated with unclassified MBBS/BDS degrees.

The Vice-Chancellor announced Ayilara Lawal Olawale of the Department of Project Management as the overall best graduating student for the 2024/2025 academic session, having obtained a CGPA of 4.96 and First Class honours.

For the 2025/2026 academic session, Olatunji-Bello said 44 diploma students and 8,653 first-degree students graduated from the university.

She disclosed that 232 of the first-degree graduates obtained First Class honours, while 3,545 graduated with Second Class Upper Division, 4,157 with Second Class Lower Division, 678 with Third Class and 31 with a pass.

The overall best graduating student for the 2025/2026 session, she announced, is Adebanjo Samuel Oluolamide of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, who achieved a CGPA of 4.97 and First Class honours.

The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that the university would confer higher degrees on 3,383 postgraduate students, comprising 618 Postgraduate Diplomas, 1,508 Academic Master’s degrees, 900 Professional Master’s degrees, 238 PhDs and 119 Professional Doctoral degrees.

The convocation will also feature the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees on prominent Nigerians for their contributions to national development, scholarship, public service and humanity.

Among those to be honoured are Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, OFR; Mrs Harriet-Ann Omobola (Bola) Adesola; and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON.

Two scholars, Professor Rafiu Olaoluwa Okuneye and Professor Olatunji-Bello herself, will also be elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor in recognition of their contributions to teaching, research, mentorship and advancement of knowledge.

The Vice-Chancellor said the 2026 combined convocation was particularly significant to her as it would be the final convocation ceremony she would preside over as Vice-Chancellor of LASU, having led the institution for the past five years.

She described the milestone as one marked by gratitude, humility and fulfilment, while highlighting the university’s achievements in academic development, research, innovation, infrastructure, digital transformation, international collaboration and student success.

Among the achievements recorded by the university, Olatunji-Bello said LASU secured professional accreditation from the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for its Bachelor of Science programmes in Chemical and Process Engineering and Mechanical Engineering under the Outcome-Based Education framework.

She added that the National Universities Commission approved 17 new academic programmes, including Cyber Security, Software Engineering, Data Science, Journalism and Media Studies, Film and Multimedia Studies, Broadcasting, Public Relations, Strategic Communication, Entrepreneurship, Tourism and Hospitality Management, among others.

The university also secured full accreditation and passed resource assessment for programmes including Special Education, Library Science, Architecture, Fine Arts, Linguistics, Taxation, Communication and Media Studies.

Olatunji-Bello also highlighted the commissioning of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Library Complex, which she described as the largest and most digitalised university library in West Africa.

On admissions and institutional reputation, she said LASU emerged as Nigeria’s most subscribed university for the second consecutive year, attracting more than 84,000 first-choice applications in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The institution also retained its position as the Best University in West Africa in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings for the fourth consecutive year, while improving its global ranking.

In research and innovation, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that two LASU students, Faaiz Abdul-Liadi, a final-year medical student, and Taiwo Goodness Ukwedje, a 300-level student of Electronic and Computer Engineering, secured two consecutive N50 million venture capital grants in 2026 in a national competition involving more than 30,000 applicants.

She said the university had also established a Tier III Data Centre with support from the World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative and Transformative STEM Education to strengthen data management, cybersecurity and digital service delivery.

LASU also secured approval from TETFund for a N3 billion Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cyber Sciences, which the Vice-Chancellor described as the only centre of its kind in South-West Nigeria.

In infrastructure, she said construction had commenced on a 1,500-bed student hostel under a TETFund-facilitated public-private partnership valued at approximately N4 billion.

The university also secured Federal Government approval for a 15-megawatt Independent Power Project, while construction and development continued on several facilities, including the School of Tourism, Centre for Planning, Faculty of Engineering building at Epe Campus and other renovated laboratories and academic facilities.

The Vice-Chancellor further noted that LASU students and staff had continued to distinguish themselves nationally and internationally.

She cited the achievement of Aminat Yusuf, the university’s first graduate to attain a perfect 5.00 CGPA, who was named the 2026 Rhodes Scholar for West Africa, as well as the performance of nine LASU Law graduates who obtained First Class honours at the 2026 Nigerian Law School Bar Examination.

On sports, she said the university recorded its best-ever outing at the Nigerian Universities Games, winning 10 gold, 14 silver and 15 bronze medals across various sporting events.

The convocation programme will commence with staff sporting activities on Wednesday, followed by the first-ever Staff Celebration Day on Thursday, August 13.

The formal convocation activities will begin on Friday, August 14, with the Coconut Breaking and Cultural Day and Convocation Jumat Service.

On Monday, August 17, diplomas, first degrees, postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees in Engineering and Agricultural Sciences will be conferred at the Olatunji-Bello Auditorium, Epe Campus.

The convocation lecture, scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, will be delivered by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, on the theme: “From LASU to the World: Harnessing the Nigerian Diaspora as the 7th Region for National Development.”

The ceremonies will continue on Wednesday, August 19, with the conferment of Professional and Academic Doctorate Degrees and honorary doctorate degrees, while a Special Convocation Thanksgiving Service at the University Chapel will bring the programme to a close on Sunday, August 23.

Olatunji-Bello commended the graduating students, their parents, guardians, lecturers and members of staff for their contributions to the students’ success.

She also expressed appreciation to the Lagos State Government, the university’s Governing Council, Senate, staff, students, alumni, development partners and the media for their support throughout her tenure.

The Vice-Chancellor urged members of the university community, parents, alumni and the general public to join LASU in celebrating the graduating students and the institution’s achievements over the past year.