…As 291Bag Distinctions In YABATECH
Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
In order to ensure that Nigerian students have no excuses in pursuing their education, President Bola Tinubu said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has shared over N50 billion to 624,535 students across 303 tertiary institutions in the country.
The president said this at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) 37th convocation ceremony in which over 8,654 graduated and three prominent Nigerians bagged Fellowship awards.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, who represented the President, said the interest-free loan scheme is a transformative effort to eliminate financial barriers and ensure that “no Nigerian child is denied access to quality education.”
He maintained that the government has also introduced a Students’ Venture Grant to support innovative business ideas by young people, with winners selected through a rigorous evaluation process involving experts from academia and industry.
President Tinubu commended the institution’s decades of excellence and reiterated the administration’s focus on STEMM, technical education, and digital skills development.
Tinubu added that the Federal Ministry of Education has trained over 960,000 youths through Vocational Enterprise Institutes and continues to expand digital literacy programmes in coding, cybersecurity, data analytics, and entrepreneurship.
He appealed to the graduating students to embrace innovation, integrity, and resilience as they enter the workforce at what he described as “a defining moment of economic renewal.”
Tinubu also called on the private sector to deepen support for research, scholarships, and enterprise development, stressing that nation-building is a shared responsibility.
The President reaffirmed that the approval to upgrade YABATECH to a full university aligns with national goals to strengthen technical and vocational education, noting, “the transition committee has submitted its report and government is considering its recommendations.”
In his speech, the Rector of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr Ibraheem Adedotun Abdul, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to producing job creators rather than job seekers.
At the event the college formally graduated 8,654 students with 291 recording distinction.
The rector expressed gratitude for what he described as a “historic moment” in the college’s 78-year journey, coming at a time when YABATECH is transitioning into the Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies under the current administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the approval, describing it as the institution’s “single greatest recognition” and a validation of its decades of academic excellence and innovation.
Dr Abdul disclosed that, for the first time, graduands would collect their certificates immediately after the ceremony following online registration, a reform he credited to the Governing Council Chairman, Prof. Funsho Isolaowa Afolabi.
He gave a breakdown of the graduating class to include 291 distinction, 2,434 upper credit, 4,403 lower credit, and 1,526 pass holders.
He emphasised that YABATECH’s compulsory vocational skills training ensures students are fully prepared for the labour market and entrepreneurship.
“You are not leaving here as job seekers but as job creators,” he told the graduands, aligning his remarks with the convocation lecture delivered earlier in the week by Senate Leader Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele on leveraging technology for national economic growth.
Abdul highlighted the college’s major achievements, including the ground-breaking Plastogas research project, full accreditation of seven new programmes, international collaborations, strategic industry partnerships, and multiple competitive research grants.
He also listed significant infrastructural upgrades and the successes of the YABATECH Digital Training Academy, which he said have positioned the institution among Africa’s leading hubs for technical and vocational innovation.
Three distinguished Nigerians—Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Senator Olamilekan Yayi, and Alhaji AbdulSamad Rabiu—were conferred with the Fellowship of the college for their contributions to national development.
