All is now set for the thirty-fifth convocation ceremony of the University of Calabar, a second generation federal tertiary educational institution in Nigeria.
According to official figures released on Monday by the school authority the tertiary education institution will convoke 7,769 graduates across the various classes of degrees and programmes offered by the university.
According to the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Florence Banku Obi, out of the almost eight thousand graduates, 5,031 are bachelor degree graduates, while 2,153 are postgraduate degree graduates of the which 1,178 will be masters degree holders and 519 are doctor of philosophy graduates.
The sandwich programme has 413 graduates with 162 bagging second class (upper) and 271 bagging second class (lower) degrees.
This edition is witnessing the graduation of 556 postgraduate diploma graduates.
There will be 171 Ordinary Diploma holders with 111 of them living with merits, 11 passes, 1 with a certificate of attendance, 45 credits, and 1 with a lower credit.
At the undergraduate class of degree level, the institution will have 11 first class graduates, 899 second class upper; 3,396 second class lower, and 721 third class graduates.
Prof further disclosed that the event will witness the acknowledgment of three honorees, namely, former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
GEJ ‘for oneness, unity, development of the country’; Dame Winifred Akpani the CEO of Northwest Oil and Gas and a certain Tola Johnson.
According to Prof Obi, the convocation ceremony is a week-long exercise which began on Monday through Sunday 7th of May with a briefing of the press, the visit to natural and traditional rulers, interdenominational religious service, research fare and exhibition (a two day event designed to extensively package the university’s research wares to the world), meeting of convocation involving institution’s alumni with management, and staff meritorious service award.
There is billed to be a reception of the 6th chancellor of the university Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, courtesy calls on the Cross River state governor Ben Ayade, the Obong of Calabar Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, command performance at Chinua Achebe Arts Theatre in honour of the 6th chancellor, investiture of the 6th chancellor, convocation lecture by Prof Ibrahim Gambari the chief of staff to the president of the federal republic of Nigeria (speaking on The Leadership And Followership Question in Nigeria: Imperative for Ethical Reorientation), award of first degrees and postgraduate diploma including masters, induction into the university’s alumni, investiture of emeritus professor, lunching and endowment fund for NUGA 2026.
‘On Saturday we will have the climax of the whole activities, for the first time the university and this administration has set aside a day for the award of doctorate alone. It’s been that when we are separating the first degrees from the postgraduate degrees, we normally will go with masters on that day, for this convocation, the masters graduate are not going to join the doctorate students. On Saturday, we shall be celebrating the doctorate students only’, Prof Obi revealed.
Concerning the research fare and exhibition, the varsity boss disclosed thus, ‘And let me also state here that for the first time our research fare and exhibition is being supported by Fidelity Bank. I will want to use this opportunity to call on other banks, other investors, corporate organisations to support future research fares, we hope that such support will lead to the uptake of research results by such sponsors and supporters’, the Varsity boss said.
