The Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, has commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, saying the initiative has helped more than 4,000 students of the institution remain in school despite financial challenges.
Agboola said before the introduction of NELFUND, between 3,000 and 4,000 students of the university usually applied annually for leave of absence due to financial constraints.
He noted that since the commencement of the student loan scheme, such applications had virtually ceased, describing the initiative as a major boost to access to quality tertiary education.
The Vice-Chancellor disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists at the Senate Building of the university ahead of its 35th convocation ceremony scheduled for next week.
He also announced that a total of 5,808 students would be graduating at the convocation, with 147 earning First Class degrees.
According to him, 2,051 graduands obtained Second Class Upper, 2,927 earned Second Class Lower, while 571 graduated with Third Class degrees. He added that 26 students finished with Pass degrees, while 86 others were uncategorised.
Agboola said Ajayi David Bamidele, a Civil Engineering graduate with a CGPA of 4.89, emerged as the overall best graduating student for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Speaking on the impact of NELFUND, the Vice-Chancellor described the scheme as “a very laudable initiative” that has allowed students to focus on their studies without the pressure of paying tuition fees.
“For the 2025/2026 academic session, NELFUND has made payments for 5,000 of our students. About 1,270 others have completed their applications and are awaiting payment, bringing the total number of beneficiaries in this session to about 6,883.
“Before the advent of NELFUND, we recorded between 3,000 and 4,000 applications for leave of absence annually due to financial difficulties. As of today, with our portal closing tomorrow, we have not recorded a single application on account of financial incapability,” he said.
He described the scheme as a worthwhile investment in Nigeria’s future and appreciated the Federal Government for sustaining the initiative.
On the convocation ceremony, Agboola said the university would sustain its initiative of issuing certificates and transcripts to graduating students on the convocation day, a practice it pioneered last year.
He also disclosed that the university would confer an honorary Doctor of Science degree on the founder of Optimus Bank and Chairman of Mango Asset Management, Mr Ayo Ojuroye, in recognition of his contributions to national development.
The Vice-Chancellor said the university had continued to improve its global ranking and recently introduced eight new academic programmes, including Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Marketing, Advertising, Food Technology, Film and Multimedia Studies, Journalism, Broadcasting and Public Relations.
He added that OOU had leveraged partnerships with individuals and corporate organisations to expand its infrastructure and strengthen learning, innovation and academic research.
Agboola said activities lined up for the week-long convocation include a health walk, cultural parade, agriculture and engineering exhibitions, and a novelty match. He added that the first and second batches of the convocation would be held on Thursday and Friday next week.
He further disclosed that the convocation lecture, scheduled for Saturday, titled “Repositioning Nigerian Universities as Innovation Hubs for Entrepreneurship and National Development,” would be delivered by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, alongside the award of higher and honorary degrees.
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