— Inside Agwa News Correspondent
ABEOKUTA – In a grand gesture celebrating academic excellence and institutional revival, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has awarded N2.5 million each to nine best graduating students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Ojere, Abeokuta. The awards span academic sessions from 2015/2016 to 2023/2024, with the announcement made during the polytechnic’s 15th combined convocation ceremony.
In addition to the cash awards, Governor Abiodun announced a N2 billion intervention fund for infrastructural development within the institution. This, he said, is aimed at restoring MAPOLY’s pride of place in Nigeria’s educational landscape.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony, which marked the graduation of 51,000 students across nine sessions, Governor Abiodun highlighted the administrative challenges and setbacks the polytechnic had faced, especially following the controversial relocation attempt by the previous administration led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
“The relocation of MAPOLY to Ipokia and its renaming was a major setback,” the governor remarked. “We met the institution struggling with a declining student population — from 30,000 to 5,000. Today, through deliberate efforts, we’ve raised that figure to 13,000 and counting.”
He credited the turnaround to engagements with the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) and a dedicated fact-finding committee, noting that the institution was “rescued from the brink.”
Governor Abiodun also unveiled several key projects under the intervention fund:
A 500-seater ultramodern lecture theatre
A modern library complex
A new building for the Department of Accountancy
The rehabilitation of internal roads, including the one leading to the polytechnic auditorium
“These projects are not just infrastructure,” Abiodun said. “They are the foundation for the centre of excellence we envision for MAPOLY.”
The governor charged the graduating students to be resilient and innovative, emphasizing that the knowledge and values gained at MAPOLY should serve as a compass for shaping the future.
“Go forth and make a difference,” he urged. “Be daring, be agents of change, and remain proud ambassadors of this great institution.”
Institutional Milestones and Pleas for Support
Delivering his convocation address, MAPOLY Rector, Dr Babatunde Jolaoso, stated that his administration, in just six months, had stabilized the institution, fostered staff-student harmony, and rekindled MAPOLY’s academic reputation.
Highlights from his address include:
Full transmission license secured for MAPOLY 99.7FM Campus Radio
Clearance of a N76 million debt owed to a commercial bank
Renewed pursuit of accreditation funding and completion of the student hostel project
Dr Jolaoso called on the state government to provide further support, especially in areas of infrastructure, including lecture halls and internal road networks.
In his remarks, the Chairman of MAPOLY Governing Council, Emeritus Professor Kamaldeen Balogun, praised the governor for “providing MAPOLY with the leadership it sorely needed,” while also commending the ongoing transformation under the current administration.
Diaspora Insights from NiDCOM Boss
Delivering the convocation lecture, Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), warned students against illegal migration, citing tragic outcomes such as death, modern-day slavery, and prostitution.
Her lecture, titled “Diaspora Perspectives and the Influence of STEM in the Globalised World of Today,” called for legal, structured migration pathways and deeper collaboration between educational institutions and Nigerians in the diaspora.
“Let MAPOLY tap into global networks,” she urged, “and develop partnerships that open doors for students beyond Nigeria’s borders.”
As the polytechnic looks to a new chapter, the convocation served not only as a moment of celebration, but as a bold declaration of intent — to restore MAPOLY’s lost glory and solidify its place as a leader in polytechnic education.
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