Dangote Pledges ₦600m LASU Girls’ Hostel, Jobs for First-Class Graduates as Sanwo-Olu Rewards Excellence

Africa’s foremost industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, has pledged ₦600 million for the construction of a girls’ hostel at Lagos State University, LASU, and offered employment opportunities to outstanding graduates in Engineering and Sciences. 

The pledge was announced on behalf of the Aliko Dangote Foundation by Hajia Fatima Aliko Dangote during LASU’s combined 29th and 30th Convocation Ceremonies. Alhaji Dangote was also conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Business, Honoris Causa, in Entrepreneurship, Industrial and Human Capital Development.

Fatima Dangote disclosed that first-class graduates in Engineering and Sciences from the graduating set would receive preferential consideration for employment with the Dangote Group after completing the National Youth Service Corps programme. 

She added that the Dangote Group currently employs more than 52,000 people across Nigeria and 11 other African countries, while the Dangote Academy provides practical training for graduates. The Foundation also runs an education scholarship programme, with plans to invest $70 million annually over the next ten years in secondary and tertiary education, teacher training, STEM, and technical and vocational education.

In a major boost for academic excellence, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, donated ₦20 million to each of the two best graduating students of the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions.

Delivering his final convocation address as Visitor to LASU, Governor Sanwo-Olu congratulated the 20,604 graduates, including 494 first-class graduates, produced across Diploma, First Degree, and Higher Degree categories. He cited Lawal Ayilara of the Department of Project Management with a 4.96 CGPA and Samuel Oluolamide Adebanjo of Aerospace Engineering with a 4.97 CGPA as top performers.

The Governor urged graduates to combine competence with character and service. He reflected on investments under his administration, including the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Library Complex, new lecture theatres, student accommodation, and over 50 infrastructure projects. Student accommodation capacity, he said, had expanded to 8,000 beds. He also noted the expansion of the state’s university system from one to three, with tuition for pioneer students of the University of Education reduced by 65 per cent.

The Chancellor of LASU, His Royal Majesty Oba Dr Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Telade IV, described the convocation as a moment of joy and gratitude. He welcomed the Governor and commended the administration’s commitment to education, human capital development, technology, and infrastructure under the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda. 

The Chancellor, who also received a Doctor of Business Administration from LASU, congratulated academic and professional doctorate graduates. He noted LASU’s emergence as the sole South-West beneficiary of the ₦3 billion TETFund Grant for the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Cyber Sciences.

He described the honorary doctorate recipients as models of excellence and service. Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, OFR, was honoured for contributions to education and public service. Mrs Harriet-Ann Omobolanle Bola Adesola received the award for leadership in corporate finance and governance, and advocacy for women. Alhaji Aliko Dangote was recognised for contributions to commerce, education, and human capital development across Africa.

In his remarks, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Mr Babatunde Ogala, SAN, OFR, said LASU was strengthening research and partnerships. He announced a strategic collaboration with the University of Illinois in Chicago involving students, lecturers, and research institutions.

Mr Kekere-Ekun, in his acceptance speech, urged graduates to combine academic qualifications with integrity, discipline, and punctuality. 

Outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Distinguished Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, mni, NPOM, said she was leaving behind a university of proven excellence. She highlighted achievements including full accreditation for 31 of 37 programmes in the first exercise under her administration, expansion of accommodation, improved IGR from ₦3 billion in 2021 to ₦13 billion in 2025, and scholarships worth tens of millions of naira.

Mrs Adesola, in her acceptance speech, emphasized women’s empowerment and the need for sustainable institutions. She said communities thrive when women participate and lead, and stressed the importance of developing Nigeria’s human capital.

The convocation also featured the conferment of a doctorate on the Chancellor, the elevation of Professor Olatunji-Bello and Professor Rafiu Olaoluwa Okuneye to Distinguished Professor, and the first-ever convocation ceremony held at the Epe Campus for graduates of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences.

With commitments from the private sector, rewards from government, and documented progress in infrastructure and academics, the combined convocation marked another milestone in LASU’s growth as one of Nigeria’s leading state universities.