President Bola Tinubu; former presidents of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd.) are among dignitaries to grace the 25th anniversary of Igbinedion University, IUO, Okada, Edo State.
Vice-Chancellor of the university,
Professor Lawrence Ezemonye, , disclosed this today, Tuesday, 30th April 2024, during a world press conference held at the institution’s campus.
According to Ezemonye, President Tinubu would be the special guest of honour, while former President Jonathan would chairman the event and Abubakar would be a special guest of honour.
Reeling out activities slated for the anniversary, Ezemonye who said different activities have been lined up for the 25th anniversary, noted that the University Founder’s Day would be held on May 10th with Anniversary Colloquium, titled: ‘Re-Imagining Tertiary Education for Africa’s Present and Future Realities’.
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He listed Hon. Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; H.E. Professor Mohamed Bellhocine, AU Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, H.E. His Excellency, Shri. G. Balasubramanian, High Commissioner of India to Nigeria, amongst others, as guest speakers.
Speaking on the 25 years journey of imparting knowledge on Nigerians and beyond, the Vice-Chancellor said at inception, IUO started with a modest figure of 115 enrolment, but has over 7,000 male and female students on campus today.
He said: “Over the years, IUO has been able to provide value and significance in the higher education landscape.
“We are the first private university in Nigeria to produce Medical Doctors, Pharmacy and Law graduates.
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“The first to produce a First Class law graduate who repeated the same feat at the Nigerian Law School and went on to become a Professor of Law, Deputy Vice Chancellor of a university and the youngest Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
“We are the first private university in Nigeria whose First Class Law graduate also obtained First Class at the Nigerian Law School (2005).
“We pioneered entrepreneurship as an academic programme in Nigeria before it was adopted by NUC as a mandatory component of the curriculum of Nigerian universities.”
Ezemonye, while noting that IUO commenced academic activities with 5 Colleges at inception, boasted that the University has expanded to 7 Colleges and 3 Schools today.
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“The academic departments/programmes have witnessed exponential increase from 7 at inception to 85, made up of 34 undergraduate and 51 postgraduate programmes,” he added.
He continued: “We have produced over 16,000 graduates across disciplines spread across the globe, with records of stellar performances in their respective fields of endeavour.
“All courses/programmes are fully accredited not only by the National Universities Commission (NUC) but also by relevant professional bodies.
“Our admission quota for Medicine, Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science was recently increased by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) and the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) by 100 per cent each.”