Ahead of its 55th convocation ceremony, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has announced Damilare Adebakin and Samuel Badekale, both from the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, as the best-graduating students with a perfect Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0.
They are closely followed by Olamide Emida, a student from the Department of Accounting, who achieved a 4.95 CGPA.
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The Vice-Chancellor, Folasade Ogunsola, disclosed this on Wednesday at the convocation press conference at the university’s senate chamber.
Mrs Ogunsola, a professor of medical microbiology, said the total number of graduating students is 16,409.
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She said 9,684 will receive first degrees and diplomas, 6,659 will be awarded postgraduate degrees, and 66 will graduate from the UNILAG Business School.
She noted that three individuals would be conferred with honorary degrees: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO); Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank Plc), and Kolawole Adesina, the group managing director (GMD) of Sahara Power Group.
The convocation lecture titled “Universities as Hubs for Development and Wealth Creation” will be chaired by former Governor of Lagos State and former Minister of Works, Babajide Fashola, and delivered by the CEO of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Tayo Aduloju.
Results breakdown
Giving a breakdown of the results, Mrs Ogunsola said out of the 16,409 graduands, 561 will be awarded first-class degrees and distinctions, 3,916 will be awarded second-class upper, 3,763 with second-class lower, 1,143 with third-class, and 78 pass degrees.
She noted that 223 are unclassified Pharmacy, Basic and Clinical Sciences degrees.
She added that the Faculty of Management Sciences recorded the highest number of first-class graduates with 125, followed by the Faculties of Sciences and Engineering with 121 and 61, respectively.
Of the 6,659 postgraduate degrees, the VC said there are 513 graduates with a postgraduate diploma, 5,933 are graduating with Masters and 213 with PhD.
She noted that the overall best PhD thesis award goes to Adetoun Akintoye with a PhD in chemistry, while the best PhD in humanities goes to Eniola Ladipo.
Convocation details
The convocation ceremonies will commence on 10 January with a Jumat service and an exhibition of innovation and end on 19 January with a thanksgiving service.
Mrs Ogunsola said it will also feature the commissioning of three projects by the Pro-Chancellor, Wole Olanipekun.
The projects are the Centre for Herbal Medicine, Drug Recovery and Development, Biomedical Toxicology, Regulatory Science and Pharmacovigilance Analytical Laboratory (ACEDHARS Building), supported by the World Bank.
“We are also commissioning the new 120-bed space Moremi Hall extension and, finally, the new ultra-modern learning commons, an extension of our library services which speaks to our student-centred services and provides an environment for teamwork, creative engagement, research-collaboration, and knowledge co-creation,” she said.
The ceremonies will also feature a groundbreaking ceremony for the School of Postgraduate Studies building donated by Tunde Fanimokun to commemorate his 80th Birthday.
“This is a dream come true. The building was first conceptualised in 2014, but we were unable to build it. Ten years later, we are finally here, and that will end the sojourn of the school on the top floor of the Faculty of Education building,” she said.
Achievements
Mrs Ogunsola also highlighted notable milestones in 2024 that UNILAG achieved.
One of the significant achievements is the establishment of the MED-AFRICA Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Laboratory, the first GMP laboratory built within a university in West Africa. This laboratory, valued at $450,000, was officially opened on 26 May 2024 and will facilitate the development of freeze-dried vaginal inserts for HIV prevention.
Another significant achievement is the launch of the Green Air Initiative, which includes the introduction of eight electric buses to transport students and staff around campus.
The university’s global connections have also expanded, with collaborative research initiatives with Bank of America on climate change and innovation.
“In 2024, we entered Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 14 universities across Africa, Europe, and the Americas to foster collaboration in various academic areas like entrepreneurship, AI, food security, robotics urban renewal, health diagnostics, education,” she said.
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