UNILORIN to Graduate 16,152 Students at 41st Convocation, Including 365 First-Class Holders

By: Ganiyu Olayinka

The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) will graduate 16,152 students at its 41st convocation, with 365 undergraduates earning first-class honours. A further 8,320 students have completed a skills programme meant to prepare them for the modern workplace.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, gave the figures on Monday at a press briefing at the University Auditorium in Ilorin, where he also outlined the university’s achievements and the convocation programme.

The graduating class

Of the 16,152 graduates, 11,213 are receiving first degrees and 4,939 are receiving higher degrees or diplomas. Among those getting first degrees, 4,367 will graduate with Second Class Upper Division, 5,102 with Second Class Lower Division, 1,006 with Third Class and 30 with a Pass.

Professional programmes will produce 19 graduates in Medicine and Surgery, 89 in Nursing, 73 in Pharmacy, 41 in Optometry, 89 in Physiotherapy and 32 in Veterinary Medicine.

At postgraduate level, the university will confer 160 postgraduate diplomas, 901 master’s degrees, 114 professional master’s degrees, two Master of Philosophy degrees and 251 PhDs. Another 3,511 students from its Centre for Affiliated Institutions will also receive qualifications.

U-INSPIRE skills programme

Egbewole said 8,320 students completed U-INSPIRE, a programme that gives participants 21st-century skills on top of their main qualification. He said the skills framework was developed in-house and delivered with 10 industry partners to improve employability and entrepreneurship. One of its graduates, Toyibah Abiodun Abdullateef of the Department of Science Education, designed the logo for the convocation.

Achievements in the 2025/2026 session

The session ran from 25 September 2025 to 18 September 2026. Egbewole listed the following:

• Admissions award: UNILORIN received ₦25 million at the sixth National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Award organised by JAMB, for promoting compliance with admission rules.
• Transport: Five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and 20 electric tricycles were commissioned in January 2026. Seven more CNG buses followed, bringing the fleet to 12 buses.
• Sustainability grant: The university won the 2025/2026 Responsible Futures Fee Waiver Grant from the International Association of Universities, which the association says makes it the first Nigerian university to receive the award.
• Research and equipment: The Tertiary Education Trust Fund approved a ₦1 billion intervention to upgrade equipment in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, and the Department of Microbiology received scientific equipment worth about ₦100 million under the XSTAR Project Nigeria.
• Industry ties: The university is in talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited about a Centre of Excellence for practical engineering and technology-driven research, and an endowed professional chair.
• Law: Israel Adekunle Adeniyi, a UNILORIN law graduate, was the best graduating student at the Nigerian Law School in 2026, and 15 other graduates of the Faculty of Law earned first-class results in the Bar Final examinations. The university also produced four new Senior Advocates of Nigeria in 2026: Adebisi Emmanuel Adeniyi, Adebayo Folorunsho Ologe, Akorede Habeeb Lawal and Mohammed Adelodun.
• Engineering: Its engineering students took podium places in every award category at the 2026 Committee of Deans of Engineering and Technology of Nigerian Universities Students’ Competition, which Egbewole called a historic milestone.
• Partnerships: The university expanded collaborations with institutions in Pakistan, China and other countries, as well as with Nigerian tertiary institutions and professional bodies.

Convocation programme

• Tuesday, 20 October: The convocation opera, The Death of the Crown’s Escort, at the Performing and Film Arts Theatre, with shows at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, 21 and Thursday, 22 October: Degrees for graduates of four-year programmes.
• Friday, 23 October: Degrees for graduates of five-year and six-year programmes. The convocation lecture, “From Lecture Hall to Cabinet Room: The Journey from Academia to Public Leadership,” will be delivered by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, at 9 a.m. at the University Auditorium. President Bola Tinubu, the university’s Visitor, is expected to commission a completed campus project at 2:30 p.m., followed by a convocation luncheon and merit awards for deserving staff.
• Sunday, 25 October: A thanksgiving service at St. Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy.

Looking ahead

Egbewole said the convocation is also a chance to review the university’s progress over the past four years and consolidate gains made under his administration. He said the university’s long-term goal remains its Vision 1:10:500: to become Nigeria’s top university, rank among Africa’s top 10 and enter the world’s top 500.

“These ambitions require continuity of purpose, evidence-led decisions, responsible stewardship of resources and a collective willingness to keep improving,” he said. He added that progress is continuous and that successive administrations must build on existing foundations: “No administration can complete the work of a university in a single tenure; our responsibility is to make a meaningful contribution, leave a stronger platform for those who follow, and preserve the stability and ambition that enable the institution to advance.”

He urged the university community, alumni, industry partners, and other stakeholders to keep supporting the institution, and appealed to journalists to report its achievements accurately.