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By:Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
A total of 91 graduants of the Niger Delta University,Wilberforce Island in Bayelsa state bagged first class.
This was revealed to Newsmen by the Vice-Chancellor,Professor Samuel Edoumiekumo at the 5th combined convocation ceremony of the University held Saturday at the Amassoma campus of the institution.
According to the Don the 5th combined convocation featured a total of 15,811graduants comprising 2014/15, 2015/16 and the 2016/17 academic sessions.
Other academic sessions involved in the Convocation are the 2017/18 and the 2018/19.
Edoumiekumo said among the 15,811 convoking graduants,619 bagged post graduate degrees,comprising 145 Masters degrees and 15 Doctors of Philosophy while 14,892 are to bag various first degrees.
A total of 459 graduants bagged post graduate Diplomas just as 2818 graduated with second class upper Division, 8,100 graduated with second class lower Division while 3,939 made third class and a total of 244 graduants finished with a pass.
Professor Edoumiekumo commended the state Governor,Seriake Dickson for giving the institution and Education a boost by funding infrastructural projects and others,pleading with him to do more within his remaining weeks in office as Governor to give the school backup in its academic programmes and developmental needs.
While retreating his commitment to continue building on achievements recorded from his inception into office as the Vice Chancellor, Edoumiekumo noted that following the contributions of the present Governor and all former Governors of the state to the institutions, some infrastructure in the school have been named after them.
In his remarks,the Bayelsa state Governor and Visitor to the school,Seriake Dickson charged the graduants to look beyond the abundant oil and gas in the Niger Delta,stressing that it is expected that rather than being job seekers they should be providers.
The Governor promised that within his remaining days in office he would look into the issues confronting the University with a view to solving them before leaving office just as he approved automatic employment for all first class graduants of the institution.
“Vice chancellor I’ve heard your almost myriads of complains, as the visitor to the university and Governor,like I said the problems of a university can not be all solved just in one day or by a single administration, but I want to specially invite you through the Honourable commissioner for Education and the Chairman,Governing council to a meeting before I leave office so that together we can solve some of the issues you have raised. But the NDU is the premier university of this greate state, so you must continue to play the role of mentorship to other institutions of learning owned by our create state.” He said.
Meanwhile the pro-chancellor and chairman Governing council of the NDU, Barrister Mathew Seyeifagha has charged graduants and students of the institution to to be worthy Ambassadors of the school.
The pro-chancellor gave the charge in his remarks at the convocation ceremony,restating that the institution has the enabling environment to serve as an avenue for intellectual and capacity development.
