Igbinedion University To Honour Oyakhilomen, Other With Honourary Doctorate Degree
By Simeon OSAJIE
One of the illustrious sons of Esanland cum Edo State and the Founder, Believers Love World Ministry also known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome alongside a Lagos based businesswoman, Princess Rosemary Osula-Atu, will be awarding Honourary Doctorate Degrees by the Nigeria’s premier Private University, Igbinedion University Okada, Nigeria’s Premier Private University during its 20th Convocation Ceremony.
About 691 undergraduate students of the university will be graduating with 13 of them going home with First Class Degrees.
Out of the total 248 undergraduates, 13 will bag first class degree while 215 will get Second Class (Lower Division).
The University will also be graduating 81 students in unclassified degrees (Pharmacy), 134 getting Postgraduate degrees, 82 receiving Masters degrees, PhD 40 and PGD 12.
At a press briefing to announce the 20th Convocation ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye, said the University will be awarding honourary doctorate degrees to two prominent Nigerians.
They are Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Founder, Believers Love World Ministry also known as Christ Embassy and Princess Rosemary Osula-Atu, a Lagos based Businesswoman in recognition of their contribution to the nation’s development by the University Governing Council.
Prof. Ezemonye however spoke on the achievement so far made by the University which he said was a success story with emphasis on the accreditation, re-accreditation and resource verification.
According to him, the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) re-accredited and granted five years’ full accreditation status to the B.Sc. Medical Laboratory Science programme, while the Council also granted an increase in admission quota from 50 to 75.
“The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) also granted full accreditation for our MBBS programme for another 5 years, while the Council approved increase in the admission quota for MBBS from 75 to 120” .
Ezemonye opined that arising from the successful Resource Verification conducted in 2021 by the National Universities Commission (NUC) for migration from B. Pharm. (Bachelor of Pharmacy) to Pharmacy D. (Doctor of Pharmacy) programme, the University has formally commenced admission into the Pharmacy D. programme with effect from the 2021/2022 academic session.
“The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) granted full accreditation status to our Chemical Engineering programme for a period of five years, effective from October, 202“.
Speaking on the new programmes recently, the V.C. said that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved additional 6 undergraduate and 5 postgraduate programmes following a successful resource verification exercise.
The undergraduate programmes, according to him, include, B.Sc. Industrial Chemistry, B.Sc. Cyber Security, B.Sc. Pharmacology, B.Sc Software Engineering BSc Environmental Engineering and B.Sc. Mechatronics Engineering.
The Post graduate programmes, Ezemonye said are PGD M.Eng & PhD Civil Engineering, PGD, M.Eng & PhD Petroleum Engineering, PGD, M.Eng & PhD Computer Engineering M.Sc. & PhD Sociology and M.Sc. & PhD Geography and Regional Planning.
By this development, he said Igbinedion University now runs 55 Undergraduate programmes in 34 departments and 24 postgraduate programmes.
He also disclosed that IUO has signed partnership agreements with three Ukrainian universities for joint educational programme, namely: V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ivano Frankvsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas and Lviv University of Business and Law, Ukraine.
“The partnership would enable students displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine to continue their academic programmes in IUO under strict compliance with the NUC Guidelines on Transnational Education.
“On Aviation Training, Igbinedion University has launched collaboration with the Newcastle Aerodrome, Ireland in the area of training and certification of students in piloting skills through her Centre for Aviation Studies.
“The courses available have been expanded to include Private Pilot License, Commercial Pilot License, Air Traffic Controller, Cabin Crew Member and Air Traffic Management. Admission into the courses is currently ongoing” he declared.
