President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, as the vice chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN.
Professor Olufemi Peters, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, announced this in Abuja, ahead of the 13th convocation of the University.
He stated that the monarch would be conferred with an honorary doctorate degree and installed as the chancellor of the institution before the convocation ceremony on Saturday.
Professor Peters thanked President Tinubu for appointing the renowned monarch and said the appointment would further reposition the university as a foremost open and distance learning institution.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, NOUN will on April 13, graduate 22,175 students at its 13th convocation.
He explained that 22 out of the total number of graduates bagged first-class degrees, adding that the university has 15,768 students as undergraduates, while 6,407 will graduate from post-graduate studies.
He said, “This year, a total number of graduates that we have is 22,175 across our various campuses. I’m happy to report that we have 6 PhDs graduate which is an indication that the University is gradually moving towards establishing a more robust post graduate school.”
He also disclosed that Dr Innocent Chukuwuma a prominent Nigerian entrepreneur and founder of Innoson Motors and an activist, Hajiya Hafsat Abdulwaheed who is the first female novelist in Northern Nigeria will both be honoured.
Professor Peters also said the University has increased its study centres from the initial 17 to 120 spread across the country, noting that the institution has surmounted most of the challenges it faced in the past.
