By Tony Edike

ENUGU— GOVERNOR Godswill Akpabio  of Akwa Ibom State and his Gombe State counterpart, Governor Danjuma Goje, are among 6,500 graduands that will receive degrees and certificates from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,  during her 39th convocation  holding on Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Bartho Okolo, who announced this during a pre-convocation press briefing in Enugu yesterday, said 1,469 higher degrees and diplomas would also be conferred on graduands who had completed various programmes.  The higher degrees include 167 doctorates, 1,067 masters and 235 post-graduate diplomas. 

He said of the 5062 first-degree recipients, 56 would leave with first class honours, explaining that the increase in the number of doctorate degree graduands from 127 last year to 167 in 2010 “is an indication that the UNN has continued to meet one of the challenges of its premier position as a first generation University” which had been meeting its obligation to the nation’s workforce, despite financial, infrastructural and operational constraints.

Information and Culture Minister, Prof Dora Akunyili, is expected to deliver the convocation lecture on “Re-branding Nigerian Universities” on Thursday in addition to other activities, including a sports competition, a music night and the conferment of honorary degrees.

At the press conference attended by administrative and academic heads from various departments, Okolo reiterated the commitment of the current management of the university to pursue a vision of transforming UNN into a global centre of learning, with improvements in standards, infrastructure and quality of its products.