The University of Benin (UNIBEN) has announced that 198 students will graduate with First Class honours at its 51st Convocation and Founder’s Day ceremony. They are among 14,083 students set to receive first degrees during the event.
Gatekeepers News reports that UNIBEN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, revealed the figures on Monday during a pre-convocation press briefing in Benin City. He said 4,217 students earned Second Class Upper degrees, 7,928 obtained Second Class Lower, while 578 graduates finished with Third Class degrees.
Describing the results as encouraging, Omoregie said the performance reflects the commitment of both staff and students to advancing academic excellence at the institution.
The Vice Chancellor also announced that 15 newly approved academic programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC) would commence in the 2025/2026 academic session. He added that the Veterinary Medicine programme, which previously faced accreditation challenges, had now been fully accredited.
“The wheel of progress is on course and moving steadily in the University of Benin,” he said. “This administration is poised to deliver on its mandate of effective, practical teaching, sound learning, result-oriented research and impactful community service.”
Omoregie applauded President Bola Tinubu for establishing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), noting that the scheme had significantly eased the financial burden on students.
“We encourage students and their parents to take full advantage of the federal government’s benevolence in instituting the fund,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor announced that Nigeria’s Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, would deliver the Founder’s Day lecture titled “Reforms for a Shared Prosperity.”
Professor Eghosa Osaghae, Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and former Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University, will deliver the Convocation Lecture on “Making Our Universities Great.”
Meanwhile, in Ibadan, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for a sustainable and realistic funding model for Nigerian universities, warning that national development goals will remain out of reach unless the institutions reposition themselves as centres of innovation and knowledge creation.
Speaking at the University of Ibadan’s 77th Foundation Day ceremony — represented by NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu — Tinubu commended the institution’s longstanding contributions to scholarship and nation-building.
He described it as “an honour” to celebrate “a powerful milestone” in UI’s journey of growth and excellence.
“University of Ibadan is a force to reckon with in the global realm,” he said. “Through years of steadfastness and commitment, it has continued to maintain its position as the first and the best in Nigeria.”
