Plumber Who Graduated With 1st Class From Federal University

An inspiring story of a young Nigerian man who recently finished from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo state, has surfaced.

Plumber Who Graduated With 1st Class From Federal University

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The man, Gabriel Nwachukwu Eze, graduated with first-class honours in Petroleum Engineering.

During its recent 34th and 35th convocation, FUTO produced 5,091 graduates, with Eze and 119 others making the institution’s first-class honours' list.

Gabriel Eze is a 2023 first-class honours graduate of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Owerri, Imo state. Ebonyi-born Eze defied many odds to achieve this excellent feat, according to his story shared recently on X (formerly Twitter) by Dr Laz Ude Eze, a public health physician. 

Narrating Eze's early life, Ude said the fresh graduate lost his father at the age of seven "and the future looked uncertain". However, he would attain excellence at age 23 "through resilience, diligence, and tenacity". 

Read the story of Eze below as narrated by Dr Ude: "Encouraged by the love and prayers of his mother, he was determined to succeed despite the significant financial challenges he faced. In order to support himself financially, he embarked on a plumbing apprenticeship while in senior secondary school. That was not enough to dim his outstanding academic prowess as he made five distinctions in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). 

"In November 2017, he was admitted into the Federal University of Technology Owerri for undergraduate studies in the Department of Petroleum Engineering. He also continued his plumbing apprenticeship whenever he returned to Okposi for holidays. Upon completion of the apprenticeship, he founded and registered *Ductspan Enterprises* - a leading construction service company that specializes in residential and commercial plumbing, sewer and septic services, water fountain construction, swimming pool construction, and water borehole drilling. 

The incorporation of Ductspan was a demonstration of his astral entrepreneurial skills. In Ebonyi State, the business has a good reputation for excellent plumbing service delivery and professionalism and has received a slew of positive reviews from clients. Many of his clients would be shocked to realise that their professional plumber was also an undergraduate while he handled their job. 

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Despite the combination of his undergraduate studies with plumbing business, Eze maintained his excellent academic records. He was a recipient of the prestigious PTDF Undergraduate Scholarship Award, the Agbami Medical and Engineering Professionals’ Scholarship Award, the NNPC/NAOC/OANDA JV Tertiary Scholarship Award, among others. "He also served as an SDG Ambassador, actively promoting awareness and activities related to sustainable developments within the student community, and organizing and participating in events, campaigns, and educational activities focused on sustainable development issues.

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Today, Saturday, December 2, 2023, Gabriel would march proudly on FUTO's Convocation ground and receive a special handshake from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nnenna Oti, and other faculty members of the University as he graduates with First Class Honours in Petroleum Engineering.