Lagos State Governor Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu, announced personal cash gifts of ₦20 million each for Ayilara Olawale and Adebanjo Oluolamide, the overall best graduating students of Lagos State University for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions respectively, during the university’s combined 29th and 30th convocation ceremonies at the Ojo campus.
Olawale, who studied Project Management Technology, graduated with a 4.96 CGPA and First Class Honours, while Oluolamide achieved an impressive 4.97 CGPA in Aerospace Engineering, also graduating with First Class Honours.
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Sanwo-Olu, who is the Visitor to LASU, said the ₦20 million awards were his personal donations to the two outstanding graduates.
“Ayilara Lawal Olawale and Adebanjo Samuel Oluolamide, each one of you will earn 20 million naira each,” the governor said.
The gesture added a notable moment of recognition to a convocation that celebrates thousands of students completing their studies across two academic sessions.
LASU’s official programme confirms that the university’s 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremonies are running from August 12 to August 23, 2026, covering graduates from the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions.
The university had earlier identified the two graduates as the overall best students for their respective sessions.
Their performances placed them among the strongest academic achievers in an institution preparing to graduate more than 20,000 students across the two sessions, according to the information provided by the university for the ceremony.
Olawale’s achievement comes with a strong personal sense of gratitude.
In a message shared after his result, the Project Management Technology graduate described the accomplishment as the product of divine grace and looked ahead to using his education for greater impact.
“Grateful beyond words to graduate as the Best Graduating Student of Lagos State University, Ojo, for the 2024/2025 Session,” Olawale wrote.
Oluolamide’s achievement was equally striking.
His 4.97 out of 5.00 CGPA placed him at the top of the 2025/2026 graduating cohort and earned him First Class Honours in Aerospace Engineering.
“All glory to God for His grace, wisdom, and strength every step of the way,” Oluolamide said while celebrating the result.
The aerospace engineering graduate had also received a separate ₦10 million prize from the Sunbeth Excellence Partnership Programme after emerging as LASU’s overall best graduating student for the 2025/2026 session.
The additional award means Oluolamide’s recognition has now extended beyond the university, bringing his publicly reported cash prizes to at least ₦30 million.
The latest recognition also reflects a broader effort to celebrate academic excellence at LASU.
The university’s combined convocation programme includes the award of degrees across several disciplines, alongside postgraduate and doctoral awards.
The programme culminates in a special thanksgiving service on August 23.
For Sanwo-Olu, the awards provide an opportunity to encourage students who have distinguished themselves through academic performance.
The governor’s decision to personally fund the awards also gives the gesture a more direct character, rather than presenting the money as a general government scholarship or institutional prize.
The recognition comes at a time when the value of academic achievement is increasingly being weighed against the economic pressures facing young Nigerians.
A substantial cash award at graduation can offer recipients both immediate financial support and a platform from which to pursue further education, professional opportunities or entrepreneurial ambitions.
The two graduates now leave LASU with more than First Class certificates and impressive academic records.
Their performances have earned them public recognition at one of the university’s largest ceremonial gatherings, alongside financial rewards that could help shape their next steps.
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For Olawale and Oluolamide, the convocation therefore marked not simply the end of their undergraduate journeys, but an encouraging beginning to what comes next.
