The University of Ilorin will graduate 16,152 students at its 41st convocation, including 365 who earned first-class honours in the 2025/2026 academic session.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Egbewole (SAN), announced the figures on Monday while briefing journalists on activities lined up for the ceremony, scheduled for October 21 to 23.
According to him, 11,213 students will receive first degrees, while 4,939 others will be awarded postgraduate degrees and diplomas.
The first-degree category comprises 4,367 students with second-class upper honours, 5,102 with second-class lower honours, 1,006 third-class graduates and 30 pass-degree recipients.
Among those completing professional programmes are 19 Medicine and Surgery graduates, 89 Nursing graduates, 73 Pharmacy graduates, 41 Optometry graduates, 89 Physiotherapy graduates and 32 Veterinary Medicine graduates.
Egbewole said the postgraduate category includes 160 postgraduate diploma holders, 901 master’s degree graduates, 114 professional master’s degree recipients, two Master of Philosophy graduates and 251 PhD holders.
He added that 3,511 students would graduate through the institution’s Centre for Affiliated Institutions.
The university also recorded 8,320 participants who completed its U-INSPIRE programme, which provides additional 21st-century skills through collaborations with 10 industry partners.
The Vice-Chancellor said the institution had continued to strengthen its academic standing through improvements in research, digital infrastructure, teaching facilities, student and staff welfare, and partnerships with external organisations.
Reflecting on his time in office, Egbewole said the ceremony offered an opportunity to assess the progress made since he became Vice-Chancellor on October 16, 2022, and the foundation his administration would leave for his successor.
“When I assumed office as Vice-Chancellor on 16 October 2022, my first convocation ceremony was for both the 37th and 38th. I came into office with a clear commitment: to build on the strong foundations laid by my predecessors, preserve the University’s defining strengths, and move the institution forward with renewed ambition,” he said.
“Four years on, as we prepare for the 41st Convocation, I do so with gratitude to Almighty Allah and a deep sense of fulfilment. This is not simply a review of activities; it is an account of steady, substantial progress and of the institutional capacity, opportunities, and responsibilities we will bequeath to the next Vice-Chancellor, as a legacy,” he added.
He noted that the university had sustained a peaceful academic environment while making progress in learning, research, campus development and staff and student support.
Egbewole also restated the institution’s ambition under its Vision 1:10:500 plan, which seeks to position UNILORIN as Nigeria’s top university, among Africa’s 10 best and within the world’s top 500.
“The 41st Convocation is therefore both a celebration and a moment of reflection. It gives us an opportunity to recognise what we have accomplished, acknowledge the people whose work made it possible, and identify the foundations on which we can build the next phase of progress,” Egbewole said.
Highlights of the ceremony
The convocation lecture will be delivered by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, on Friday, October 23, at 9am.
Her lecture is titled From Lecture Hall to Cabinet Room: The Journey from Academia to Public Leadership.
The university will also present its convocation opera, The Death of the Crown’s Escort, at the Performing and Film Arts Theatre on Tuesday, October 20. The show will run at 4pm and 6pm.
Students enrolled in four-year programmes will receive their degrees on October 21 and 22, while graduands from five-year and six-year courses will be presented with their certificates on October 23.
President Bola Tinubu, the university’s Visitor, is expected to commission completed projects on campus at 2.30pm on Friday.
The day’s events will continue with a convocation luncheon and merit awards for deserving staff members at the university’s Multipurpose Hall at 4.30pm.
The activities started with a Jumat service on October 16 and an interdenominational church service on October 18. They will end with a thanksgiving service at St Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy on Sunday, October 25.
