…Nursing, MLS, Law graduates record 100% success in professional examinations; secures £385,094 Erasmus+ research grant
…Begins MBBS, Mechatronics, Software Engineering programmes; completes multi-billion-naira auditorium
…CJN Kekere-Ekun to deliver convocation lecture
Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, is set to graduate 964 students at its 10th and 11th Combined Convocation Ceremonies for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions, with 116 undergraduates emerging with First Class honours.
The graduands comprise 884 undergraduate and 80 postgraduate students.
Of the undergraduate graduands, 116 earned First Class honours, 398 obtained Second Class Upper Division, 299 made Second Class Lower Division, 69 graduated with Third Class, while two obtained Pass degrees.
At the postgraduate level, the university will award 11 Postgraduate Diplomas, eight Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees, 40 Master’s degrees, four Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, two Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) degrees, two Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degrees and 13 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Philip Gbenro Oguntunde, disclosed these figures during a briefing ahead of the ceremonies, with the main convocation scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2026.
He announced that the convocation lecture, slated for Thursday, November 12, would be delivered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun.
The lecture will be chaired by elder statesman and former Secretary-General of Afenifere, Bashorun Sehinde Arogbofa, who was also the pioneer Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University, Lafia.
The university will confer an honorary doctoral degree on the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, in recognition of his professional accomplishments, philanthropy, contributions to educational development and service to the legal profession.
A major highlight of the institution’s recent academic expansion is the approval granted by the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the commencement of its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme.
Following a successful NUC resource verification exercise, admission into the programme has commenced, positioning the university to contribute further to medical education and healthcare manpower development in Nigeria.
The MBBS programme is among four newly introduced undergraduate courses, alongside Mechatronics Engineering, Software Engineering and Public Health.
The university has also introduced postgraduate programmes leading to M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Architecture.
Oguntunde described the university’s performance in professional examinations as evidence of the quality of its academic and professional training.
The 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.
Similarly, Medical Laboratory Science students achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in their internal and external professional examinations, while the university’s 2024/2025 Law graduates who sat for the Nigerian Law School Bar examinations also recorded 100 per cent success.
The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that the Council of Legal Education, following its re-accreditation visit to the Faculty of Law from July 12 to 14, 2026, increased the university’s admission quota for Law from 70 to 120. The admission quota for Nursing Science was also increased.
He added that Elizade University secured full accreditation in all six programmes assessed by the NUC during its October/November 2025 exercise.
The programmes are Law, Accounting and Finance, Microbiology, Business Administration, Human Resource Management and Computer Science.
According to him, the university has continued to maintain the accreditation of its programmes by the NUC and relevant professional regulatory bodies.
He noted that the Nursing Science and Law programmes were increasingly being regarded as benchmarks, reflecting the institution’s commitment to high standards in professional education.
In research and international collaboration, Elizade University secured an Erasmus+ research grant worth £385,094 through researchers in its Department of Biological Sciences.
The institution is also leading another Erasmus+ grant proposal involving a consortium of nine institutions from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Spain and Germany.
Another major initiative is the proposed establishment of a China-Africa Joint Laboratory in collaboration with the Northwest Institute of Ecological Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. The laboratory, when established, is expected to be physically hosted by Elizade University.
The university has also completed its multi-billion-naira, 2,500-capacity Beatrice Ademolawe Ojo Multipurpose Auditorium, built by its Founder, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, OON.
The facility, named in honour of his late mother, Mama Beatrice Ademolawe Ojo, will host the convocation lecture.
Looking ahead, Oguntunde said the university would consolidate its achievements through sustained investment in academic excellence, research and innovation, digital transformation, internationalisation, community engagement and infrastructural development.
He expressed appreciation to the Founder, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, OON; the Board of Trustees; the Governing Council, chaired by Mr Ademola Adebise; Management; Senate; staff; students; parents; alumni and other stakeholders for their contributions to the institution’s growth.
The week-long convocation activities, which commenced on November 6, include environmental awareness activities, staff awards, sporting competitions, a convocation play, the convocation lecture and the main graduation ceremony on Friday, November 13.
The ceremonies will conclude with a thanksgiving service at St Michael’s Anglican Church, Ilara-Mokin, on Sunday, November 15, 2026.
