By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
The Federal University Lokoja is to graduate a total of 2,521 in its upcoming combined 6th and 7th Convocation Ceremony with a total of 61 First Class Degree Honours graduands.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi disclosed this on Monday at university Council Chambers, Felele Campus during the Pre-Convocation Press Briefing for the commencement of activities of the combined convocation ceremony.
He said that a total 2,521 graduates with 1,283 from the the 6th set and 1,238 from the 7th set would be conferred with first degrees alongside 99 Master Degrees, and 128 Postgraduate Diploma.
Honorary degrees would also be conferred on eminent personalities who have contributed to the development of the nation.
A breakdown of the data for the two sets, shows that 61 persons bag first class honours, 605 bag second class upper division, 1,404 are in second class lower division, 447 are in third class honours and 4 persons bag pass degree.
On the relocation of the University to its permanent site in Felele area of Lokoja, the Vice Chancellor said, “I want to inform you with utmost excitement that all the programmes of the University are now domiciled on the Permanent Site in Felele.
“The Faculties of Arts, Education, Engineering, Management Sciences, Science, Social Sciences have been relocated to the Felele Campus and all academic activities now take place here on the Campus.
“While the Take-off Campus in Adankolo now houses the College of Health Sciences and the Department of Nursing Science.”
Prof. Akinwumi said that under his leadership, some academic programmes including Medicine, Nursing and Engineering while Agriculture, Law, Pharmacy, Psychology and Medical Laboratory Sciences programmes in the pipeline were added to existing programmes.
He said that the University which took 17th position out of the 51 Nigerian Universities and ranked 9th amongst the Federal Universities in Nigeria was seeking collaboration with Cuba for development of its Medical and Engineering programmes.
“The University is trying to penetrate Cuba through the Ambassador, for the development of our Medical and Engineering programmes. Already we are relating to the University of Freiburg in Germany and Morgan State University in the United States of America (USA).
The Vice Chancellor held that in spite of two completed hostels at the Permanent Site, students of the University, will continue to live outside the campus, pending when the institution can guarantee adequate security.
Akinwumi decried the random security breaches in educational institutions across the country saying that his administration had to engage hunters and local vigilance groups to boost security on the campus.
On Inaugural Lectures, the Vice Chancellor said, “Two inaugural lectures were held before I assumed office in 2021. Today, a total of 15 inaugural lectures have taken place. It is a university culture and a way of showcasing our achievements.
He said that the University would be launching an endowment fund during the 6th and 7th Convocation ceremony and used the occasion of the Pre Convocation Press Briefing to solicit the support and contributions of all well meaning Nigerians.
He urged them to be part of the launch as he appealed to the good people of Kogi State, especially the Politicians to assist the University in its bid to put all these physical structures in place. (Ends)