Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has gifted the best graduating students of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, a total of N11 million at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, presenting the donation during the University's 15th Postgraduate Convocation and Doctor of Philosophy Hooding Ceremony held in Ilishan Remo.

The Governor also witnessed the conferment of doctorate degrees on the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, and his Chief of Staff, Dr Oluwatoyin Taiwo. Salako received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Health, while Taiwo earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Administration.

Announcing the Governor's donation, the President and Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Afolarin Ojewole, disclosed that Abiodun pledged N2 million each to the overall best graduating students in the Master of Science, Master of Philosophy and Postgraduate Diploma categories, while the overall best Doctor of Philosophy graduating student received N2.5 million. Ojewole added that the Governor extended the gesture to the overall best graduating student at the undergraduate level, to be presented at the undergraduate convocation ceremony on Sunday.

Speaking at the ceremony on the theme "Breaking New Grounds," Abiodun urged the graduates to pursue lives of integrity, innovation and service, warning that education without character poses a danger to society. He stated that Universities must produce graduates who combine intellectual excellence with moral responsibility to address Nigeria's development challenges, describing the convocation as marking a transition from preparation to purpose.

The Governor noted that artificial intelligence could process information swiftly but could not replace integrity, compassion, moral responsibility or ethical judgement, adding that the future would belong to those who combined innovation with integrity and intelligence with character. He also highlighted the State's education reforms, revealing that Ogun had recruited over 6,000 teachers through the Ogun Teach Programme and rehabilitated schools under the Ogun Rehab Initiative, while its Learner Identification Number initiative had been adopted as a national framework.

Ojewole, in his remarks, charged the doctoral graduands to view their degrees as the beginning of greater responsibility rather than the end of learning, noting that the University's GRACE Mandate continued to guide its administration by building a globally relevant, research focused and entrepreneurial University community.