Benue State University (BSU) in Makurdi, the state capital, has graduated 17,925 students with 44 of them bagging first class.

The BSU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tor Iorapuu, disclosed this at a pre-convocation press briefing for the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th combined convocation of the institution on Thursday, December 5, 2024.

Iorapuu said out of the total graduated students, 15,101 would be conferred with bachelor’s degrees, 72 postgraduate diplomas, 2,196 master’s degrees, and 556 doctorates.

He said: “44 of them earned first class and prizes will be awarded to deserving students.

“Honorary doctorate degrees of the university would be conferred on distinguished Nigerians, including Prof. Toyin Falola (Doctor of Letters, D.Litt.), Honoris Causa.

“Others are Mr Sylvanus Ghasarah (Doctor of Science, D.Sc.) Honoris Causa, Mr Paul Edeh (Doctor of Law, D.LL), and Senator Gabriel Suswam (Doctor of Laws, D.LL).

“Posthumous honorary doctorate degrees would be conferred on the late Paul Unongo (Posthumous: Doctor of Letters, D.Litt), Honoris Causa, and the late Lt. Col. Joseph Akaahan (Former Chief of Army Staff) (Posthumous Doctor of Law, D.LL) Honoris Causa.”

The VC stated that the number of awardees was beyond three because the event slated for Saturday, December 7, is a combined convocation.

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Iorapuu stressed that the institution was not unmindful of the Keffi Declaration, which stated that the awardees should not exceed three per convocation.

Iorpuu thank Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia for stabilising the university through regular and timely payment of salaries.

The vice-chancellor noted that with the support of the National Universities Commission (NUC), BSU added new programmes and created four new faculties, thereby increasing the number of faculties to 14.

He described the NUC as a critical stakeholder in the development of education and lauded the commission for its support.

Iorpuu noted that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was another major collaborator and stakeholder in the sustenance of higher education in Nigeria.

The VC stated that more than half of the structures on the university campuses were of TETFund.

Iorapuu said in the last 18 months, TETFund expended 4,240,299,427 on infrastructure, procurement, and maintenance of existing TETFund facilities in BSU.

He added that in 2023, over six projects of TETFund were completed, some commissioned, with some ongoing.

Iorpuu attributed the feat to the support of the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono.

The Star