Two Lagos State University graduates who emerged the institution’s overall best graduating students for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions are leaving the university with records of academic excellence and research achievements beyond the classroom.
Ayilara Olawale, a Project Management Technology graduate, emerged as the best graduating student for the 2024/2025 session with a CGPA of 4.96, while Adebanjo Oluolamide of the Department of Aerospace Engineering recorded a CGPA of 4.97 to claim the top spot for the 2025/2026 session.
Their achievements were announced by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of the university’s combined 29th and 30th convocation ceremonies.
While their academic performances placed them at the top of their respective graduating classes, both graduates have also been involved in activities beyond their coursework.
Oluolamide, an Aerospace Engineering graduate, said research and academic publication formed part of his undergraduate experience.
He disclosed that two of his research papers had been accepted for presentation at the 2026 Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigerian Annual International Conference and Exhibition scheduled to hold in Lagos.
The graduate had also received recognition as Scholar of the Year at the Aerospace Engineering Students Association, LASU dinner, an honour he described as his second such award during his undergraduate studies.
Celebrating his graduation, Oluolamide noted that his academic journey had been marked by research, long hours of study and sustained commitment to his field.
Olawale, meanwhile, graduated with a B.Tech (Honours) in Project Management Technology and was also associated with LASU’s Project1500 initiative and the Millennium Fellowship, LASU cohort.
Reacting to his emergence as the university’s best graduating student for the 2024/2025 session, Olawale attributed the achievement to divine grace and described his journey through the university as one that required discipline, endurance and perseverance.
The recognition of the two graduates comes as LASU prepares to confer degrees on thousands of students from the two academic sessions.
The university said 494 of its first-degree graduates across the two sessions earned First Class honours, with 262 graduating with the distinction in 2024/2025 and 232 in 2025/2026.
The combined convocation ceremonies are scheduled to run from August 14 to 23, with the university expected to celebrate graduates across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The emergence of Olawale and Oluolamide adds an academic excellence dimension to the ceremonies, highlighting students whose university experience has extended beyond obtaining degrees to include research, professional development and academic recognition.
