The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GCON, will deliver the Pre-Convocation Lectu...
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GCON, will deliver the Pre-Convocation Lecture of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, as part of activities marking the institution’s 45th Convocation Ceremony.
This was disclosed in a statement signed and released on Monday by the Director of the Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, ABU, Auwalu Umar, which noted that the lecture is scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026, at the Abdullahi Mahadi Conference Centre, ABU Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria.
According to the statement, the lecture will be chaired by Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who served twice as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance between 2003 and 2006 and again from 2011 to 2015, is widely credited with leading negotiations with the Paris Club that resulted in the cancellation of about US$30 billion of Nigeria’s external debt, including an outright write-off of US$18 billion. She also briefly served as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006, becoming the first woman to hold both positions.
The statement further revealed that the Chancellor of the university, His Majesty Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, CFR, the Obi of Onitsha, will attend the Pre-Convocation Lecture, alongside His Highness, Malam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, CFR, the Emir of Zazzau.
It added that visiting vice-chancellors from both public and private universities, as well as prominent Nigerians including captains of industry, bankers and technocrats, are expected at the event.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, was quoted as saying that preparations were in advanced stages to ensure a successful convocation ceremony.
The statement noted that the 45th Convocation Ceremony of the university will hold on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Mamman Kontagora Square, ABU Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria.
Prof. Ahmed, on behalf of the Chancellor, Governing Council, Senate, staff and students of the university, invited members of the public to attend both the Pre-Convocation Lecture and the Convocation Ceremony.
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