Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife commenced activities for Day one (1) of its Forty Ninth (49th) Convocation on Thursday, 11th December with a formal ceremony that combined institutional tradition, recognition of national support and a sober moment of tribute, graduating Classified Undergraduate Degrees of First Class Hons, Two Hundred and Eighteen (218), Second Class Hons (Upper Division) – Two Thousand one Hundred and Thirty Two (2132), Second Class Hons (Lower Division), Two Thousand Two Hundred and forty Four (2244), Third Class Honours, Six Hundred and Twenty Five (625), and Pass, Thirty Four (34).
The Day One event held at the newly renovated Amphitheatre featured the conferment of first degrees for graduands from the Faculties of Administration, Arts, Education, Law and Social Sciences. The programme began with the academic procession at 10:00 am, followed by the National Anthem, the University Anthem, the Great Ife Anthem and the opening remarks made by the Registrar, Mr K.A. Bakare. The Registrar quoted Section 42(2), Statute 17(1) of the Second Schedule of Obafemi Awolowo University (Transitional Provisions) Act CAP 02, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 which tipulates that ‘A Convocation for the conferment of degrees and other academic titles and distinctions of the University shall normally be held once every year at such a time and place as shall be determined by the Senate. The degrees, academic titles, and distinctions shall be conferred by the person presiding.’
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simeon Bamire, then delivered a comprehensive statement that acknowledged the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu and expressed appreciation for the Federal Government’s support in the renovation of the Amphitheatre and the implementation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which has eased the financial burden on students.
He announced that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, is scheduled to deliver the convocation lecture on Saturday, 13. He also commended the Ooni of Ife for his consistent support for the development of the university and acknowledged the positive role of the University Council.
A tribute was paid to the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council, who passed away on the 2nd of December. The gathering observed a minute of silence in his honour. The Vice Chancellor expressed condolences to the family and remarked that the university remains grateful for the late chairman’s leadership.
ICYMI: Obafemi Awolowo University Pro-Chancellor, Professor Siyan Oyeweso, Passes Away
He reaffirmed that the university has enjoyed an atmosphere of stability and credited the management team for guiding the institution toward the level of transformation expected of a modern global university.
Presenting the graduation statistics, the Vice Chancellor announced that a total of six thousand five hundred and sixty-two students completed their programmes. These included fifty four undergraduate diploma holders, five thousand two hundred and fifty three classified bachelor degree recipients, two hundred and ninety six unclassified bachelor degree recipients and nine hundred and fifty nine postgraduate graduands.
The undergraduate diplomas comprised nine distinctions, fourteen lower credits, twenty-six upper credits and five passes. Classified bachelor degrees included two hundred and eighteen first class honours, two thousand one hundred and thirty two second class upper division graduates, two thousand two hundred and forty four second class lower division graduates, six hundred and twenty five third class graduates and thirty four pass degree recipients. Unclassified classified degrees produced eight distinctions, one hundred and eleven passed with distinction and one hundred and seventy seven pass recipients. The postgraduate output included one hundred and ninety-one doctoral degrees, seven hundred and five master’s degrees and sixty-three postgraduate diplomas.
Faculty statistics indicated six hundred and forty nine graduates from Administration, seven hundred and seventy three from Arts, six hundred and fifty three from Education, forty one from Law, six hundred and thirty eight from Social Sciences, four hundred and seventy six from Agriculture, one hundred and thirty six from Basic Medical Sciences, four from Clinical Sciences, eighteen from Dentistry, one hundred and thirty eight from Pharmacy, four hundred and twenty from Environmental Design and Management, eight hundred and forty eight from Science and seven hundred and fifty five from Technology.
The Vice Chancellor congratulated the graduands for their diligence and perseverance and extended appreciation to their parents and guardians for their support throughout the academic journey.
He highlighted institutional achievements recorded since the last convocation. The university population currently stands at approximately thirty-five thousand students supported by a workforce of about forty thousand across two colleges, the postgraduate school and thirteen faculties. The university now runs ninety-four fully NUC-accredited programmes. It has recorded new advancements in artificial intelligence, including hydro-powered robotic projects, controlled feedback systems and in-house trained machine learning models. The institution has also developed artificial intelligence-enabled smartphones and smartwatches.
In August, the university was one of ten Nigerian institutions awarded a grant by the French Development Agency to support digital infrastructure for teaching, learning and research. It also partnered with the Federal Government on a skills programme for young Nigerians between fifteen and thirty-five with a focus on technology, creativity and entrepreneurship. The convocation period also featured three annual academic prizes, including the Professor Samuel Olusoji Memorial Prizes and new institutional partnerships with Myton Cables and Wire Limited, Opay Digital and collaboration with Airtel Nigeria.
The Vice Chancellor confirmed the completion of the Amphitheatre renovation as well as work on Oduduwa Hall. He, however, identified electricity supply as a major operational challenge. The institution spends over two hundred million naira monthly on energy, while internally generated revenue covers only a one-quarter fraction of the cost. Efforts are ongoing to introduce a campus-wide metering system and to complete the gas-powered hostel project. He added that the university is prepared to release twenty-five hectares of land for the Presidential Solar Farm Power System, which aims to generate ten megawatts of electricity through a partnership between the Federal Government and the World Bank.
He also appealed for government support to complete the New Senate Building, funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has remained unfinished since 2023 and requested additional lecture theatres and student hostels. Afterwards, the Chancellor conferred degrees on the graduands presented by the Deans of the Faculties of Administration, Arts, Education, Law and Social Sciences in the process.
In addition, fifty academic prizes from the alumni association were announced, including a ten-million-naira reward to the department of the overall best graduating student from the Faculty of Technology and outstanding students across the Faculties of Administration, Arts, Education, Law and Social Sciences. In the Faculty of Administration, Ejeomoh Wisdom Breakthrough emerged as the overall best graduating student with a score of 72A and a CGPA of 4.89, while Abe Hephzibah Adeboye repeatedly distinguished himself in Accounting by winning several awards, including the ICAN Prize, the Zenith Bank Prize and the Ebun Ireyomi Prize with a CGPA of 4.85. Obadofin Elizabeth Oluwadamilola earned the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria Prize with a CGPA of 4.81.
The best performance in Taxation went to Ogundipe Idowu Tosin with a score of 80, while Sowemimo Oluwabukunola Oluwaferanmi led in Auditing with a score of 91. Oluwuyi Abayomi Stephen topped Financial Accounting with 86.5, and Ayeni Iyanu Gideon led in Finance with a score of 77. Major awards in International Relations were dominated by Ejeomoh Wisdom Breakthrough, who secured prizes such as the General Ike Nwachukwu Prize and the General Joe Garba Prize with a CGPA of 4.89. In the Social Sciences category, Ayoola Samuel Ayodeji won the Faculty Prize as the best graduating Geography student with a CGPA of 4.82, while Adedokun Kehinde Adedamola took the Aderanti Adeboye Prize with a CGPA of 4.78. Ogbase Marvellous Mitota topped Research Methodology with a CGPA of 4.13, and Raouv Rahoofat Olayode led Economics in B.Sc. examinations with a CGPA of 4.68.
Olaoye Habeeb Olawale won two major prizes in Monetary Economics with scores of 78.5% and 78.5% respectively, while Ayanlola Lekan Ayanyanwo scored 88.5% for the best graduating student in Business Economics. Targema Huldah Ternamdoo recorded 79% in Transport Economics, and Ojo David Semilore won the Urban and Regional Planning award with a CGPA of 3.09. In Political Science, Fabiyi Kehinde Victor secured two departmental prizes with a CGPA of 4.52, while Folowosele Abosede Deborah topped Psychology with a CGPA of 4.50. Tokode Felix Prayer emerged best in Sociology with a CGPA of 4.24.
Additional prizes were awarded to Amzat Nurudeen Oladimeji with a CGPA of 3.73 in Industrial Sociology and Eromosele Purity Osenigbo with a CGPA of 4.23 in Medical Sociology. In the Education, Sulaiman Zalaykho Taye with 4.78 CGPA emerges as the Overall best performer in B.Sc/B.A/B.Ed. Degree Examination, Graduating best Students with the highest CGPA in compulsory Education Courses, and whose Class of Degree is not below Second Class Upper Division, Prof. Baba Fafunwa Prize, for the graduating student with the best performance in Parts 3 and 4 Education Core courses Examination in the faculty of Education and Alabi Abeeb Damilare emerged as the best performance in the Faculty of Arts. The ceremony ended with closing formalities, the rendition of anthems and the exit of the academic procession.