Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday awarded N20 million each to LASU’s best graduating students for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 sessions.

Sanwo-Olu announced the awards during Lagos State University’s 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremonies at the Buba Marwa Auditorium, Ojo.

Ayilara Olawale, from the Department of Project Management, emerged overall best graduating student for 2024-2025.

Olawale recorded an impressive Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.96 to emerge top of the graduating cohort.

Similarly, Adebanjo Samuel, from the Department of Aerospace Engineering, emerged overall best graduating student for 2025-2026.

Adebanjo achieved a CGPA of 4.97, earning recognition as the university’s overall best graduating student for the academic session.

Sanwo-Olu congratulated the 20,604 graduands from both academic sessions, describing the cohort as the largest graduating class in LASU’s history.

He noted that the graduands included 494 First Class students, attributing their achievements to their parents, guardians, sponsors and lecturers.

“Your achievements reflect the commitment of your parents, guardians, sponsors and lecturers who supported you throughout your academic journey,” he said.

The governor also congratulated 3,383 postgraduate graduands, including Doctor of Philosophy graduates, urging them to expand knowledge and mentor younger scholars.

He said LASU had recorded remarkable growth since its establishment 43 years ago, describing the institution as a product of Lateef Jakande’s vision.

Sanwo-Olu said LASU had emerged as Nigeria’s most subscribed university for two consecutive years, attracting more than 84,000 first-choice applications.

He added that Times Higher Education ranked LASU Nigeria’s best state university and fourth-best university overall.

According to him, LASU was also rated West Africa’s best university for four consecutive years, from 2022 to 2025.

He noted that the recognition came through the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, further demonstrating the university’s growing international profile.

Sanwo-Olu said LASU’s selection as South-West host of the N3 billion TETFund Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cyber Sciences reinforced its rising profile.

The governor said his administration prioritised education and technology under the THEMES Plus agenda because both remained central to Lagos’ development.

He listed the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Library Complex, student union building, accommodation facilities, lecture theatres and other infrastructure among achievements recorded at LASU.

Describing the ceremony as his final convocation as Visitor, Sanwo-Olu urged graduands to represent Lagos and Nigeria with competence, character and courage.

 “Use your education to serve humanity. Degrees open doors, but service builds lasting legacies,” the governor told the graduands.

He congratulated LASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, on her final convocation and commended her contributions during her five-year tenure.

Sanwo-Olu said Olatunji-Bello had elevated LASU’s profile, adding that history would remember her contributions to the institution’s development.

He also congratulated LASU Chancellor, Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, who presided over his first convocation after recently obtaining a Doctor of Business Administration degree.

Olatunji-Bello said LASU was graduating 20,604 students across diploma, first-degree and higher-degree programmes from the two academic sessions.

She described the ceremony as her fifth and final convocation as vice-chancellor and expressed gratitude to Sanwo-Olu for supporting her administration.

The vice-chancellor said LASU successfully elevated its standing among Nigerian and African universities despite challenges encountered during her five-year tenure.

The university conferred honorary doctorate degrees on Akin Kekere-Ekun, Bola Adesola and Aliko Dangote for contributions to national development, scholarship, business and humanity.

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of LASU Governing Council, Babatunde Ogala, said the university would sustain partnerships, research and programmes aligned with Lagos’ strategic position.

He specifically highlighted aviation and maritime studies as areas requiring continued development because of their importance to Lagos’ economy and future.

Ogala announced a strategic partnership between LASU and the University of Illinois Chicago to promote collaboration among students, lecturers and researchers.

He urged the graduands to regard their degrees as a call to deeper intellectual engagement and greater responsibility to society.

The combined convocation marked a significant milestone for Sanwo-Olu and Olatunji-Bello as they prepare to leave their respective positions as Visitor and Vice-Chancellor, respectively.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has declared Thursday a work-free day in commemoration of Isese Day, a celebration of the African traditional religion.

This is contained in a memo by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof.

In the memo, the governor extended his felicitations to adherents of African Traditional Religion across Oyo State, Nigeria, and beyond, wishing them a successful and spiritually enriching celebration.

Makinde reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to fairness to all religions, expressing gratitude to traditional worshippers for their support to his government over the past seven years.

The governor said that the work-free day would enable workers and residents to fully participate in the celebration of the state’s cultural heritage and pray for the peace, unity, and stability of the state and the country in general.

Recall that Makinde introduced the Isese day celebration as part of his administration’s efforts to honour adherents of traditional religion.

Isese day was also introduced to harness cultural tourism as a driver of economic growth, emphasizing that cultural tourism remains one of the state’s greatest strengths.

Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has commenced the tracking of more than N1 billion worth of Federal Government-funded projects in Osun.

The ICPC tracking team lead, Mary Oke, disclosed this on Wednesday in Osogbo.

Oke said the exercise was aimed at ensuring that government-funded projects provided value for money and were executed according to specifications.

She said the tracking exercise would cover the three senatorial districts of the state — Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.

According to her, the projects being tracked include road construction, solar-powered street lights, skill acquisition and empowerment programmes.

She added that the commission would also track grants provided to vulnerable people, widows, persons with disabilities and the elderly, as well as the construction of community halls and renovation of community libraries, among others.

Oke said the exercise was part of the commission’s mandate to promote accountability and transparency in the implementation of public projects.

“The ICPC is in another phase of its constituency project tracking exercise in the state.

“The exercise, which includes assessing the status of various constituency projects, is also to ensure that public resources are judiciously utilised to deliver quality infrastructure and services to citizens.

“Relevant stakeholders, including community members and civil society organisations, should support the tracking exercise by providing the commission with relevant information that can aid in achieving its objectives,” she said.

Oke urged communities to protect completed projects from vandalism, saying the government had done its part and it was the responsibility of citizens to remain vigilant and protect public facilities.

She added that the tracking exercise was also aimed at ensuring value for money, accountability and transparency in the implementation of public projects.