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By Adesina Wahab

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has said the university lost over N500 million in research grants due to the cancellation of the 51st Convocation Ceremony earlier scheduled for March 9-12, 2020.

He stated this on Tuesday during the start of the rescheduled ceremony in Lagos.

Ogundipe, in his speech titled ” A Breath of Fresh Air,” said the university also lost unquantifiable sums in other areas, while some of the persons that would have taken part in the ceremony had died.

“For instance, our former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, who is being honoured as an Emeritus Professor (Post Humous) now, would have been honoured then. The negative impact of the cancellation was far-reaching. The university’s image was battered, funds committed to the production of materials and logistics for the ceremonies were wasted.

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“Parents and students who had travelled to Lagos from different places were devasted and heartbroken. Even traders and vendors on campus were not spared. The cancellation of the convocation ceremonies was just one of the many issues that pervaded the university.

“”Since the inauguration of Senator Dr Lanre Tejuosho led Governing Council on April 19, 2021, the entire university community has felt a breath of fresh air. The university that was hitherto polarised suddenly became unified under the leadership of Dr Tejuosho,” he said.

Recall that the ceremony was cancelled then because of the faceoff between the then Governing Council led by Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN, and the management which led to a series of events including the suspension and reinstatement of the VC and the dissolution of the Council.

The VC said a total of 15,753 students, comprising 7,754 at first-degree level, and 7,999 at a postgraduate level were graduating.

The Pro-Chancellor/ Chairman of Council, Dr Lanre Tejuosho, said he was proud to be associated with the university where he graduated as a medical doctor over 35 years ago

A total of 281 students bagged first-class degrees in various fields, while 31 also bagged distinction.

Alimi Ibrahim Adedeji emerged as the Best Graduating Student with a CGPA of 4.98, while the best PhD thesis was presented by Moruf Rasheed Olatunji in Marine Sciences.

Vanguard News Nigeria