By our Reporter
No fewer than 964 students of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, are set to graduate at its 10th and 11th combined convocation ceremonies, with 116 undergraduate graduands earning First Class honours.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Philip Oguntunde, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference to announce activities lined up for the combined convocation, covering the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions.
Oguntunde said the graduating students comprised 884 undergraduates and 80 postgraduate students. He added that the university would award bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate qualifications and an honorary doctoral degree at the ceremony scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2026.
Giving a breakdown of the undergraduate results, the vice-chancellor said 116 graduands made First Class, 398 obtained Second Class Upper, 299 earned Second Class Lower, while 69 graduated with Third Class and two with Pass degrees.
He explained that 358 of the undergraduate graduands belonged to the 2024/2025 academic session, while 526 were from the 2025/2026 session.
At the postgraduate level, Oguntunde said 11 students would receive Postgraduate Diplomas, eight MBAs, 40 master’s degrees, four Master of Laws (LLM) degrees, four Master of Engineering degrees, two Master of Philosophy degrees and 13 Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
He described the graduating class as another milestone in the institution’s academic journey, noting that the results reflected the commitment of the students, dedication of academic staff and the university’s emphasis on academic standards and quality assurance.
The vice-chancellor reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to producing graduates with intellectual capacity, professional competence, entrepreneurial initiative and ethical responsibility to contribute meaningfully to national development.
On the university’s academic expansion, Oguntunde disclosed that it had secured approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme following a successful resource verification exercise.
According to him, the new programme complements the institution’s existing strengths in Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science and other health-related disciplines.
He further revealed that the Council of Legal Education had increased the university’s admission quota for Law from 70 to 120 following a re-accreditation exercise conducted in July 2026.
Oguntunde added that the admission quota for Nursing Science had also been increased, while the university secured full accreditation for all six programmes assessed during the October/November 2025 NUC accreditation exercise.
The accredited programmes include Law, Accounting and Finance, Microbiology, Business Administration, Human Resource Management and Computer Science.
Speaking on professional examinations, the vice-chancellor said the university’s third set of Nursing Science graduates recorded 100 per cent success in both the Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife examinations conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
He said Medical Laboratory Science students also recorded 100 per cent success in their internal and external professional examinations, while the 2024/2025 Law graduates who sat for the Nigerian Law School Bar examinations equally recorded 100 per cent success.
The university, he added, had expanded its academic offerings with the introduction of Mechatronics Engineering, Software Engineering and Public Health. Postgraduate programmes in Architecture leading to M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees had also received NUC approval.
On research and innovation, Oguntunde disclosed that researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences had secured an ERASMUS+ research grant worth £385,094, describing the achievement as evidence of the university’s growing research capacity and international visibility.
He also announced plans to establish a China-Africa Joint Research Laboratory in collaboration with the Northwest Institute of Ecological Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
According to him, the proposed laboratory would be located at the university and serve as a platform for joint research, scientific exchange and the development of solutions to environmental challenges.
Another major highlight of the convocation, he said, would be a lecture to be delivered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, on Thursday, November 12, at the newly completed 2,500-capacity Beatrice Ademolawe Ojo Multipurpose Auditorium.
The university would also confer an honorary doctoral degree on the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession, education and philanthropy.
Oguntunde described the completion of the multi-billion-naira auditorium as one of the institution’s major infrastructural milestones, attributing the investment to the vision and commitment of the university’s founder, Chief Michael Ade. Ojo.
He said the university had continued to invest in facilities and academic development to strengthen its position as an innovation-driven institution.
The convocation activities, which commenced on Friday, November 6, with a press conference and Juma’at service, will feature environmental awareness activities and the presentation of staff awards on Monday, November 9; sporting competitions on Tuesday, November 10; and a convocation play on Wednesday, November 11.
The programme will culminate in the main convocation ceremony on Friday, November 13, while a thanksgiving service will hold at St. Michael’s Anglican Church, Ilara-Mokin, on Sunday, November 15.
The vice-chancellor congratulated the graduands and urged them to deploy the knowledge and values acquired at the institution to make meaningful contributions to society.
