A total of 286 students of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), bagged first-class honours as 2,194 graduated from the institution at its 14th convocation ceremony.

The institution’s vice-chancellor, Smaranda Olarinde, in her welcome address on Wednesday, said the graduating class comprised 1,759 undergraduates and 435 postgraduate students.

Ms Olarinde said the university was ranked 1st in Nigeria for the fifth consecutive year, second in Africa, and 72nd globally in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, with a score of 90.8 per cent, making it the only Nigerian university in the global top 100.

“Academically, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria increased ABUAD’s Medicine and Surgery quota from 200 to 250 and approved 25 slots for Dentistry. The university also secured full accreditation for Sociology, Human Nutrition and Dietetics (93.6%), Computer Science and Geology, as well as favourable accreditation for postgraduate Accounting and Business Administration.

“Through an MoU with Zhejiang Polytechnic University, China (ZUME), 37 Engineering students and 2 professors had 3 weeks of intensive training in Intelligent Manufacturing and Control Technology. Another group had a 28-day study programme in Changchun, China, while the King’s College London partnership secured 4 places for ABUAD students in its 2026 Summer School.

“Other collaborations include a Digital Twin Laboratory with Shenzhen University and a six-month industrial training for 20 Aeronautical Engineering students with United Nigeria Airline. In research, ABUAD deployed a High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility in November 2025 for genomic and AI research, implemented Turnitin for all academic staff, and had 8 academics listed among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford-Elsevier,” she said.

The vice-chancellor announced Chukwurah Richard of the Department of Computer Engineering as the overall best-graduating student for the 2025/2026 session.

“Richard recorded a perfect Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00 and received a ₦10 million cash prize donated for the second consecutive year by agribusiness entrepreneur and ABUAD alumnus, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi,” she added.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji paid tribute to the university’s founder, Aare Afe Babalola, for his dedication to human development and contributions to society. He commended ABUAD for sustaining high academic standards and for ranking as Nigeria’s top university in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Rankings.

Mr Oyebanji also acknowledged the founder’s support for the Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, including funding for control tower equipment and a 100-car parking facility. He urged the graduands to remain creative, adaptive and pragmatic, stressing continuous learning and skill acquisition in an artificial intelligence-driven age.

(NAN)