The University of Ilorin will graduate 16,152 students at its 41st convocation ceremony, as the institution records ₦260.3 million in National Research Fund awards and strengthens its position in research, innovation and academic excellence.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing ahead of the convocation ceremonies scheduled to run from October 16 to 25, 2026.
According to Egbewole, the graduating class comprises 11,213 first-degree recipients and 4,939 higher-degree and diploma graduands, reflecting the university’s continued commitment to producing skilled graduates for Nigeria and the global community.
Of the first-degree graduands, 365 will graduate with First Class honours, while 4,367 will obtain Second Class Upper Division degrees. Another 5,102 are in the Second Class Lower Division category, 1,006 will graduate with Third Class degrees, and 30 will receive pass degrees.
The higher-degree category includes 251 Doctor of Philosophy recipients, 901 master’s degree holders, 160 postgraduate diploma recipients, 114 professional master’s degree holders and two Master of Philosophy graduands.
The university will also graduate students in professional programmes, including Medicine and Surgery, Nursing, Pharmacy, Optometry, Physiotherapy and Veterinary Medicine.
Beyond the graduation figures, Egbewole highlighted the institution’s research achievements, noting that the university secured eight awards under the 2026 National Research Fund programme, valued at ₦260,291,695.
He also disclosed that the university emerged as the fourth-best-performing institution nationally in the latest Tertiary Education Trust Fund ranking cycle.
In the 2026 SCImago Institutions Rankings, the university ranked first in Nigeria in Aquatic Science, while recording strong performances in other disciplines, including Animal Science and Zoology, Surgery, Veterinary Science, Mathematics, Library and Information Science, Computer Science, Physics and Astronomy, and Arts and Humanities.
The Vice-Chancellor said the achievements reflected the institution’s sustained investment in research, academic development and institutional capacity.
He added that the university had received full accreditation for 11 academic programmes following an exercise conducted by the National Universities Commission in November 2025.
The institution also secured a ₦1 billion TETFund intervention for equipment upgrades in its Faculty of Engineering and Technology, while its Department of Microbiology received scientific equipment valued at approximately ₦100 million for the XSTAR Project Nigeria.
Egbewole described the achievements as part of a broader effort to strengthen the university’s research capacity and improve its contribution to national development.
The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted several achievements by students and alumni, including international recognition for innovation, entrepreneurship and academic excellence.
Three undergraduates secured a combined ₦150 million in the Federal Government Students Venture Grant competition, with each recipient receiving ₦50 million for an individual project proposal.
Another student, Abdusalam Olamide Sulaiman, emerged as one of the winners of the international OdiseIA4Good artificial intelligence competition in Spain with GeoGuard, a predictive environmental intelligence platform designed to monitor and forecast coastal erosion and flooding.
The university also recorded success in engineering competitions, debating championships and entrepreneurship initiatives.
In a notable international achievement, alumna Jane Odum won $30,000 in the Google-sponsored MedGemma Impact Challenge with Epi-Cast, a mobile-first artificial intelligence platform designed to improve disease surveillance in resource-constrained environments.
Egbewole said such accomplishments demonstrated the university’s capacity to nurture talent capable of competing internationally and developing solutions to societal challenges.
The Vice-Chancellor said his administration had prioritised digital transformation, staff and student welfare, infrastructure development, research and external partnerships since assuming office on October 16, 2022.
Among the interventions highlighted were the introduction of compressed natural gas buses and electric tricycles to ease transportation challenges on campus.
The university initially commissioned five CNG buses and 20 electric tricycles in January 2026 and subsequently added seven more CNG buses, bringing the total number to 12.
Egbewole also disclosed that the university had expanded its partnerships with local and international institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi, and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.
The collaborations are expected to support research, professional training, environmental conservation, staff and student exchanges, and industry-driven innovation.
He further noted that the university had entered into agreements with several Nigerian tertiary institutions to expand access to degree and diploma programmes.
Reflecting on his administration, Egbewole said the achievements recorded over the past four years were built on the university’s established traditions of stability, academic excellence, discipline and peaceful coexistence.
He said the administration’s approach had been to consolidate existing strengths while positioning the institution to meet the demands of a changing global knowledge economy.
The Vice-Chancellor reaffirmed the university’s Vision 1:10:500 aspiration: to become Nigeria’s number-one university, rank among Africa’s top 10 and enter the world’s top 500 universities.
He said the progress recorded during his tenure should provide a stronger foundation for the next administration.
“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 said.
Egbewole’s tenure is scheduled to end on October 15, 2027.
The convocation programme will feature the commissioning of a lecture theatre at the College of Health Sciences by the Visitor to the university, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on Friday, October 23.
The programme also includes a convocation lecture titled From Lecture Hall to Cabinet Room: The Journey from Academia to Public Leadership, to be delivered by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie.
Other activities include the conferment of degrees, a command performance of the university’s opera production, The Death of the Crown’s Escort, and the presentation of merit awards to deserving staff members.
The ceremonies, which began with religious services on October 16 and 18, will conclude with a thanksgiving service on Sunday, October 25.
Egbewole called on the university community, alumni, parents, partners and the media to sustain their support for the institution as it pursues its academic and developmental aspirations.
He described the 41st convocation as both a celebration of the graduating students and an opportunity to assess the university’s progress, acknowledge collective contributions and strengthen the foundations for future growth.
