Prof Tayo Ends Era at Babcock with Unprecedented 217 PhDs and 241 First-Class Graduates

Another significant achievement was made on Sunday by Babcock University in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, when the religious school graduated 241 students in the First Class grade and a record 217 scholars with Doctors of Philosophy.

3,229 students were graduated in the 2025–2023 convocation of the first private university in Nigeria to begin operations.

The institution’s history also reached a major turning point with the convocation, as Prof. Ademola Tayo, the President/Vice-Chancellor, will formally retire in December 2025 after ten years of revolutionary leadership.

Also, it was a first for the Babcock University Centre for Open and Distance e-Learning (BUCODeL), which graduated its first group of fifty-five students.

The leaving Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tayo, gave an emotional speech at the gala ceremony hosted at the university’s main campus, reflecting on ten years of development under his direction. He said the university saw major advancements in both academic and infrastructure expansion.

We unleash not only graduates today, but also ambassadors of moral leadership, greatness, and faith,” he remarked. I am incredibly grateful as I conclude this chapter.

Even though the school’s graduates are still taking on leadership roles in a variety of fields, he said, “As the VC, I would be leaving the office on December 1, 2025, I am happy to note that the university’s faculty members have won many research grants for life-changing projects in the last year.”

Chancellor Prof. Bassey Idoh praised the university’s administration for their diligence and dedication to turning out graduates who are making a meaningful contribution to their communities.

Fatimah Lawal of the Economics Department was the top graduating student overall, earning a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97 out of 5.

In a similar spirit, Oladele Alabi and Emmanuel Okpechi were the best postgraduates in the PhD program overall, with a combined CGPA of 4.91 on a 5-point scale, while Oluwabamise Adeniyi was the best Master’s degree graduate overall, with a CGPA of 4.89 out of 5.1.

At 71 years old, Dr. Bolaji Frederick Olusegun earned his PhD in law, making him the oldest individual to graduate.