Sokoto State University has unveiled a strategic academic partnership with a Turkish university aimed at advancing research collaboration and transnational education, even as the institution prepares to clear a convocation backlog dating back to the 2019/2020 academic session.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Mohammed Bello Yerima disclosed both developments while addressing journalists in Sokoto ahead of the university's combined 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th convocation ceremony, scheduled to climax on Saturday, July 5, 2026. He said over 6000 graduands would receive degrees at the event, with Founders Day holding on Thursday, July 2, and a convocation lecture on July 3.

Yerima said the partnership would grant SSU students and lecturers access to international research platforms, joint degree programmes and faculty exchange opportunities, allowing students to earn qualifications jointly certified by both institutions.

"The current thinking is transnational education. Universities across the world are looking for partners in Africa. We want Sokoto State University to be among those institutions that attract international students and academic collaborations," he said, adding that the university had visited more than 12 embassies, with the Turkish Embassy expressing firm interest in supporting partnerships with Turkish universities.

On the convocation backlog, Yerima explained that he met an institution that had gone without a ceremony since 2019/2020, leaving numerous graduates without certificates required for employment and further study.

"By the regulations of the university system, certificates are not issued until the convocation ceremony is held. I felt we were not fair to our students who graduated long ago," he said.

He cited a graduate who nearly lost an admission offer at Queen's University over the missing certificate, an issue resolved only after the university wrote to confirm his graduation. Similar verification requests had come from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, he said, adding that all certificates had since been produced with modern security features and would be issued immediately after Saturday's ceremony.

The Vice Chancellor commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu for approving additional funding for the convocation after reviewing the university's initial budget, and for appointing Muhammadu Nuhu Sanusi as the institution's new Chancellor ahead of the event. He also paid tribute to the university's founder, a former Sokoto State governor and current Senator, for establishing the 12 year old institution.

Doctorate degrees will also be conferred on eminent Nigerians who have contributed to the university and the nation, Yerima said, expressing confidence that the Turkish partnership would consolidate SSU's reputation as an emerging centre of research and learning.