OKONJO-IWEALA TO DELIVER PRE-CONVOCATION LECTURE AT ABU 45TH CONVOCATION

OKONJO-IWEALA TO DELIVER PRE-CONVOCATION LECTURE AT ABU 45TH CONVOCATION

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GCON, is set to deliver the Pre-Convocation Lecture of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as part of activities marking the institution’s 45th Convocation Ceremony.

The lecture is scheduled to hold on Friday, 30 January 2026, at the Abdullahi Mahadi Conference Centre, Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria. Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, will chair the occasion.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who served twice as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance between 2003 and 2006, and again from 2011 to 2015, also briefly served as the country’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006. She remains the first woman to hold both positions. During her first tenure as Finance Minister, she led negotiations with the Paris Club which resulted in the cancellation of Nigeria’s external debt, amounting to about US$30 billion, including an outright write-off of US$18 billion.

The main Convocation Ceremony is billed for Saturday, 31 January 2026, at the Mamman Kontagora Square, ABU Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria.

In a notification and invitation to the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Adamu Ahmed, disclosed that preparations were in advanced stages to ensure a successful convocation.

Dignitaries expected at the Pre-Convocation Lecture include the Chancellor of the university, His Majesty Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, CFR, the Obi of Onitsha, as well as His Highness, Malam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, CFR, the Emir of Zazzau.

Also expected are visiting vice-chancellors from public and private universities across the country, captains of industry, seasoned bankers, technocrats and other prominent personalities.

Professor Adamu Ahmed, on behalf of the Chancellor, Council, Senate, staff and students of Ahmadu Bello University, has invited members of the general public to participate in the lecture and the convocation ceremonies.

The press statement was signed by Auwalu Umar, Director, Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and dated Monday, 15 December 2025.