Governor Ahmed Aliyu has reaffirmed his administration's commitment to strengthening higher education in Sokoto State, responding to an appeal by Sokoto State University for approval to recruit additional academic staff ahead of its planned expansion into new faculties and programmes.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammad Bello Yarima, appealed the University's combined fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth convocation ceremonies in Sokoto. He disclosed that the University has grown from three pioneer faculties to five since its establishment in 2009, and is awaiting approval from the National Universities Commission to commence 22 additional academic programmes, an expansion expected to raise the number of faculties to between eight and nine.

Yarima noted that proposed programmes include Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Medical Sciences, and Nursing, courses he said were designed to respond to emerging national manpower needs. He stressed that expanding academic offerings without a corresponding increase in qualified lecturers would place additional pressure on existing staff and could affect teaching and research quality, hence his call for fresh recruitment.

Beyond academic expansion, the Vice Chancellor revealed that the university has introduced a monthly public lecture series to encourage intellectual engagement among staff, students, and the wider community. He also disclosed plans to establish a Centre of Excellence for Solid Mineral Research, noting that the institution is already engaging institutions in India and China to secure technical support, specialised equipment, and training for the proposed centre.

Yarima acknowledged the contributions of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to the university's development, stating that the agency has supported infrastructure, research, and staff training programmes in countries including the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and India. He commended the state government for sustaining its policy of automatic employment for First Class graduates, revealing that four recent First Class graduates have already been recruited into various faculties.

During the ceremony, the university announced that 42 students graduated with First Class honours, while thousands of others received degrees across the Faculties of Arts, Computing, Education, Science, and Social Sciences. The convocation marked the institution's first combined ceremony after clearing a backlog from previous academic sessions.

Governor Aliyu highlighted ongoing investments in staff welfare, salary improvements, renovation of staff quarters, and construction of a sports complex, assuring the university of continued government support in its drive to become one of Nigeria's leading Institutions of higher learning.