The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is set to graduate a total of 16,506 students during its 56th convocation ceremonies, scheduled to hold between January 16 and 25.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, who made this known Wednesday, at its pre-convocation press briefing held at the Senate Chamber, disclosed that 10,584 graduands will receive first degrees and diplomas, while a total of 5,922 students will be awarded postgraduate qualifications, including Ph.D., DBA, EMBA and master’s degrees.

An additional 140 graduands will emerge from the University of Lagos Business School (ULBS).

The VC revealed that a total of 709 students graduated with first class and distinction, while 4,543 earned second class upper degrees.

She named Chukwuzubelu Benedict Umeozo of the Department of Business Administration as the Overall Best Graduating Student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0, while Deborah Isiuwa Oloton of the Department of Architecture, emerged as the best graduating student in Science with a CGPA of 4.91.

The convocation activities, Ogunsola stated, will commence on Friday, January 16, with a Jumaat Service at the University Central Mosque, while the formal academic events will begin on Monday, January 19, with the unveiling of the UNILAG Multimedia Library Studio, a World Bank–funded Centre of Excellence project aimed at preserving Nigeria’s cultural heritage through digital media.

She said the highlight of the day would be the convocation lecture, titled ‘Maximising Nigeria’s Demographic Dividend through Urgent Education Reform for Global Competitiveness in the 21st Century’, which will be delivered by Mr. Orondaam Otto, founder of Slum2School Africa, at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium.

The lecture will be chaired by Prof. Rahamon Bello, former Vice-Chancellor of the university.

Ogunsola explained that first degrees and prizes would be conferred on graduands from several faculties on January 20, while those from the College of Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management Sciences, Pharmacy and the Distance Learning Institute would graduate on January 21.

Postgraduate degrees, emeritus recognitions, gold medals, and honorary doctorates will be awarded on January 22.

She announced that the university will also confer honorary doctorates on Mr. Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Kanu Godwin Agabi (SAN), former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), in recognition of their contributions to national development.

On research and global ranking, the VC said UNILAG retained its position as Nigeria’s top-ranked university (jointly with UI) in the 2026 Times Higher Education Rankings, placing in the 801–1000 global band, and ranking first nationally in research quality and industry income.

She added: “The university also won the Most International African Institution (West Africa) 2025 award.”

Prof. Ogunsola emphasised major infrastructural developments across the campus, including the renovation of the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium, completion of the UNDP–UNILAG UniPod, the Window on America project in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, new faculty buildings, hostel rehabilitation, and expanded solar energy solutions.

She noted that UNILAG attracted over $17.3 million (about N24 billion) in research grants, largely in health-related research, and recently established a state-of-the-art molecular laboratory for Parkinson’s

disease research, funded by global partners.

She also disclosed that the university expanded from 12 to 19 faculties, recruited 350 new staff, supported over 61 startups, trained more than 14,000 students and youths, and reduced carbon emissions through its electric vehicle initiative.

Ogunsola thanked staff, students, alumni, government, industry partners, and the media for their continued support, saying: “UNILAG remains committed to innovation, global relevance, and impactful education. The past year has been one of growth despite economic challenges. As we look ahead, we remain focused on excellence, partnership, and making the University of Lagos more globally connected and student-focused.” (THISDAY)

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