A private university in Offa, Kwara State, graduated 140 students at its maiden convocation ceremony, with eight earning first-class degrees.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony held on October 12, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kazeem Alagbe Gbolagade, said 54 graduates obtained Second Class Upper degrees, 76 earned Second Class Lower degrees, while two graduated with Third Class Honours.

Gbolagade said the university, licensed in 2021 and commencing academic activities in 2022 with two faculties and 10 programmes, had expanded to four faculties and 17 academic programmes.

He listed the faculties as Science and Computing; Management and Social Sciences; Education; and Health Sciences.

The Vice-Chancellor said the institution planned to introduce Law, Theatre Arts and Public Health programmes as part of its next phase of academic expansion.

On enrolment, he said the university's student population had grown from 81 in the 2022/2023 academic session to 640 newly admitted students in the 2026/2027 session.

He added that more than 1,000 prospective students had applied for admission in the current session, noting that the exercise was still ongoing.

"Our quota for this year is 1,166, and once we fill up our quota, 2026/2027 admission will close," he said.

Gbolagade attributed the growth to the university's commitment to academic excellence, strict adherence to its academic calendar, and emphasis on information technology and entrepreneurship.

He said the institution also engaged visiting lecturers and partnered with institutions within and outside Nigeria to provide students with practical and international learning experiences.

According to him, the university had signed memoranda of understanding with Highstone International University, United States, and INTI International University, Malaysia, to promote staff and student exchanges, research collaboration, grant attraction and resource sharing.

He added that the university had partnered with New Horizon to provide practical information technology training for students across all disciplines. The programme is expected to enable students to earn additional professional certifications alongside their degree certificates.

The Vice-Chancellor also said the university had made progress in research and grant acquisition, noting that some academics had secured research grants and international opportunities.

He said the University of Offa Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies was launched in March 2026, while its first volume, containing 19 articles, was published in June.

On entrepreneurship, Gbolagade said the university was helping students acquire Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration for their businesses, with plans to introduce start-up grants for graduates in the future.

He said the initiative was part of efforts to equip graduates with the skills to become job creators rather than job seekers.

The Vice-Chancellor also said the university's first 10 academic programmes had received accreditation from the National Universities Commission.

He added that four programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Science, Doctor of Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science and Community Health Science also recorded 100 per cent success during the NUC resource verification exercise conducted in April 2026.

Gbolagade, however, identified inadequate infrastructure as one of the major challenges confronting the young institution.

He appealed for support to develop additional on-campus accommodation, a modern Senate building, a Faculty of Health Sciences building, a Faculty of Law building, a 1,000-capacity lecture theatre, a modern mosque, a library complex, a sports complex and a CBT centre.

The Vice-Chancellor thanked the university's founder, Dr Abdulrasaq Oyewale, for his vision and support in developing the institution.

He also said the university introduced a 50 per cent salary increase for staff, effective October 1, 2026, as part of its welfare package.

Gbolagade said the university would continue strengthening its relationship with the media and other stakeholders as it works toward its vision of becoming a leading institution of higher learning.

Gbolagade said the convocation week would feature a series of activities, including counselling and job training for graduates, an intra-university sports competition, special Jumat prayer, a convocation prayer, the launching of a N3 billion university project, dinner and an award night.