The Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Victor Ndoma-Egba, on Saturday said the institution is the best university in Nigeria “in terms of administrative and academic excellence”.

The institution’s pro-chancellor made the remarks during the institution’s 9th convocation ceremony.

The pro-chancellor’s claim, however, appears a mere public relations gimmick for his university as he did not provide any data upon which he based the ranking.

The convocation ceremony saw 8,191 students awarded different degrees, with 177 of them clinching a First Class honour’s.

Also, 8,444 postgraduate awardees were decorated with various postgraduate programmes degrees.

In his address at the event, Mr Ndoma-Egba acknowledged the immense support FUOYE continues to enjoy from the President Bola Tinubu administration, saying: “this University is grateful to you, Mr. President as you have contributed immensely to our development in human and material resources.

“It is worthy of mention that FUOYE has benefited from the goodwill of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in bountiful ways, from TETFund Special Impact Projects to other interventions, NELFUND Students Loan Scheme, Federal Ministry of Education’s guidance in policy making, as well as other supervisory agencies like National University Commission (NUC) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Commission (JAMB).

“While thanking Mr. President, our visitor, for his immense support so far, we look forward to even more support to enable us achieve our mission and vision as the fastest growing university in Nigeria.”

The pro-chancellor added, “The University Management deserves commendation for these attainments. These accomplishments speak volumes about the steadfastness, resoluteness and avowed commitment of the managers of the system, most especially the University Management under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, for making FUOYE the best in terms of administrative and academic excellence in the country and beyond.”

The Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Abayomi Sunday Fasina, listed the achievements of the university in the last four years, emphasizing the “entrenchment of culture of peace and stability; academic excellence and accreditation” as the major achievements of the university.

According to him, “Over the past four years, FUOYE has welcomed the National Universities Commission
(NUC) for resource verification and accreditation exercises, alongside professional bodies such as the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

“These achievements are the reasons why admission slots into the university is over subscribed for more than 100 percent in the last academic year,” Mr Fasina, a professor, said.

“It is gratifying to note that FUOYE has consistently secured accreditation for its programmes. The University takes immense pride in prioritizing the delivery of high-quality academic programmes that meet and exceed regulatory standards,” the VC noted.

He remarked further that, “in response to the University’s rapid growth, driven by a significant increase in students enrolment, several new academic programmes have been introduced overthe past four years. These programmes reflect the University’s commitment to meeting
emerging educational needs and expanding its academic offerings.”

Those new programmes, according to him include, Medicine and Surgery, Data Science and Analytics, Agricultural Business Management, Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development.

Others are Advanced Business Programmes such as MBA, DBA, MFA, DFA, PDFM, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Business Administration, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Public Administration and Finance, MPA, DPA.

The FUOYE convocation ceremony also gave honorary doctorate to prominent Nigerians, including two former Attorneys-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi and Bayo Ojo.

Others are Olusegun Alebiosu, the managing director and chief executive officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Allen Onyema, the chief executive officer of Air Peace.