By Engr. Olaniyi Olayiwola

The Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) Department of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, had every reason to hold its head high at the university’s 18th Convocation Ceremony. The department not only produced distinguished graduates but claimed the most coveted academic laurel on offer; the university’s Overall Best Graduating Student. This is coming to EEE department for the first time since LAUTECH was founded 36 years ago. Adding colour and deeper meaning to the occasion, the EEE Class ’05 Alumni Association marked the milestone with a special celebration, honouring academic excellence and reaffirming its commitment to the department that shaped its members over two decades ago.

Nestled within the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, the EEE Department has long been regarded as one of LAUTECH’s most rigorous and intellectually demanding disciplines. The 2025/2026 Academic Session, however, delivered a statement that transcended departmental pride. Oladepo Caleb Olugbenga, the best graduating male student from the department, recorded a First-Class cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.89, a performance of exceptional brilliance that earned him the distinction of Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology and, ultimately, the historic Overall Best Graduating Student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology at the 18th Convocation’s conferment of First Degree awards today, 22nd April, 2026. It is the kind of achievement that sends a message across faculties, departments, and generations that precision, discipline, and intellectual rigour; the very values the EEE curriculum demands translate into the highest form of academic distinction. Equally commendable was Akinwande Salimat Oluwatobi, who graduated as the best female student in the department with an impressive First-Class CGPA of 4.51, demonstrating that excellence in the EEE Department is not a solitary phenomenon but a culture.

The celebration of these outstanding graduates was not left to chance or institutional routine. The EEE Class ’05 Alumni Association composed of members of the graduating set of 2005 in the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department who have stepped forward with purpose and pride to honour the stars of the 2025/2026 session. The Association has since 2023/2024 Academic year instituted an annual Award of Excellence presented to the best graduating male and female students from the EEE Department. What made the 18th Convocation particularly significant is that the Association expanded its recognition framework in 2026 to include the best graduating student in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, a widening of scope that coincided fortuitously with one of their department’s finest hours. That the recipient of this expanded faculty-level award also emerged as the university’s overall best graduate made the occasion nothing short of historic.

“We are incredibly proud,” said Dr. Rabiu Emmanuel Oluwatosin, the Executive Chairman of the EEE Class ’05 Alumni Association. “When we graduated in 2005, we made a silent promise to give back. Seeing a student from our department stand on the highest pedestal for the first time in this university is not just our department’s win. It is a validation of every late-night oil we burned studying, every push our good lecturers provided, and every sacrifice our parents made. We celebrate Caleb and Salimat because they represent what EEE students are made of.” Engr. Olaniyi Olayiwola, the General Secretary of the Association, echoed this sentiment while highlighting the institutional significance of the moment. “Our award of excellence is not a one-off gesture. It is a deliberate, sustained commitment to recognising and encouraging academic merit. We started with the department, and this year we extended to the faculty. The timing could not have been more perfect.”

At the ceremony, the Association presented its Awards of Excellence to both outstanding students. Oladepo Caleb Olugbenga received the award as the best graduating male student in the EEE Department and, in a first for the Association’s history, as the best graduating student in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, a recognition made all the more profound by his groundbreaking simultaneous coronation as the university’s Overall Best Graduating Student. Akinwande Salimat Oluwatobi received the award as the best graduating female student in the department, representing a level of academic commitment and intellectual consistency that deserves to be celebrated as loudly as any headline achievement. The dual recognition sends an important message about the culture the Association is working to build: that excellence is not reserved for one gender or one narrative, and that the department is producing outstanding talent across the board.

The Association’s activities, however, are not merely ceremonial. They are anchored in a broader philosophy of sustainable development that aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). SDG 4 calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities. The Association’s annual Award of Excellence is a direct intervention in this space, not simply through the act of recognition, but through the signal it sends to current and prospective students that academic excellence is seen, valued, and rewarded by those who have walked the same path. Recognition of this nature has been shown to stimulate academic aspiration, particularly in STEM disciplines where the learning curve is steep and the temptation to settle for passing grades is ever-present. SDG 9, which speaks to building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialisation, and encouraging innovation, finds expression in the Association’s most tangible intervention to date. Following a thorough needs assessment conducted in the department, the Association identified critical gaps in laboratory infrastructure and responded with a targeted donation of an Antenna Trainer Device; a specialised laboratory system designed to teach students the fundamental principles of antenna design, radiation patterns, and wave propagation. In a rapidly evolving telecommunications and radio-frequency engineering landscape, access to this kind of hands-on equipment is an educational necessity. The donation ensures that EEE students at LAUTECH are not learning solely from textbooks while the world advances; they are gaining applied, laboratory-grounded competencies that make them industry-ready and genuinely competitive. SDG 17, which underscores the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in achieving sustainable development, finds its clearest embodiment in the Association itself, a self-organised alumni body that has built a sustainable bridge between a professional community and an academic institution, mobilising intellectual capital, professional networks, and financial resources in service of a shared mission.

Critically, the Association under the distinguished chairmanship of Dr. Rabiu Oluwatosin, has structured all of these activities as a sustainability initiative, not a one-time donation or a ceremonial gesture, but a recurring, institutionalised programme with annual outputs, expanding scope, and a long-term vision. The intent is deliberate: to make giving back to the department a permanent feature of what it means to be a member of the EEE Class ’05, and to inspire subsequent graduating sets to establish similar traditions of alumni engagement. The needs assessment that preceded the Antenna Trainer donation illustrates this philosophy well. Rather than acting on assumption, the Association engaged academic staff and students to identify the most impactful intervention possible. This approach of listening before acting reflects a maturity in alumni engagement that is still rare in the Nigerian university context, and it is a model worth replicating across the sector.

As LAUTECH community absorbs the remarkable achievement of Oladepo Caleb Olugbenga during this 18th Convocation and 36th Founder’s Day, the EEE Class ’05 Alumni Association stands as proof that the bonds forged in the heat of an engineering programme, the shared late nights, the gruelling laboratory sessions, and the demanding examinations can be channelled, years later, into something that outlasts any individual graduation ceremony. The message from the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, through its 2025/2026 graduates and through the alumni who came before them, is one of confidence that excellence is not accidental. It is cultivated, and those who were cultivated here do not forget where it began.

The current Executive Members of the LAUTECH EEE Class ’05 Alumni Association are: Dr. Rabiu Oluwatosin (Chairman), Engr. Odewale Adewumi (Vice Chairman), Engr. Olayiwola Olaniyi (General Secretary), Engr. Oyeniyi Oluwaseun (Financial Secretary), Engr. Adetiran Adesoji (PRO), Engr. Alade Temitope (Treasurer), Engr. Adeyemo Victor (Ogbomoso Zonal Coordinator), Engr. Gazali Abolade (Abuja Zonal Coordinator), Engr. Adeyemo Olusegun (Ibadan Zonal Coordinator), Engr. Ojenike Abimbola (Lagos Zonal Coordinator), Engr. Agbonyin Anthony (Osogbo Zonal Coordinator), Engr. Robert Omotooke (Port-Harcourt Zonal Coordinator), and Engr. Oladapo Kola (Diaspora Zonal Coordinator).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday launched consultations with stakeholders on a framework to block fraudulently registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) numbers by telecom operators.

The regulator said the initiative aims to bring together industry experts, security agencies, financial regulators, government bodies, and consumers to build a safer and more reliable digital communications ecosystem.

Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, disclosed this at a stakeholders engagement in Abuja, noting that the commission had initiated a consultative process on the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) platform to address challenges related to SIM usage.

Speaking at the event, Maida highlighted the need to strengthen regulatory foundations, pointing out that the evolution of SIMs into critical identifiers for financial transactions, digital authentication, and access to essential services has introduced new vulnerabilities.

“The fraudulent use of churned, recycled, swapped, and barred SIMs has become a major vector for financial fraud and identity theft, eroding public trust in digital platforms and undermining systems we have worked hard to build,” he said.

He explained that the TIRMS platform provides a secure, standardized approach for managing risks tied to registered SIM numbers.

The system will enable service providers to verify numbers flagged for dormancy, suspicious, criminal, or fraudulent activities before granting access to services.

To strengthen the regulatory framework, the NCC has proposed amendments to the Quality of Service (QoS) and Registration of Communications Subscribers regulations.

These include notifying affected subscribers at least 14 days before a line is churned, submitting churned number details to TIRMS within seven days, and establishing a framework for blocking fraudulently registered or misused SIMs.

Maida said the measures would enhance digital security, improve accountability, and promote transparency, while providing regulatory clarity.

He also emphasized the commission’s participatory approach to rulemaking, highlighting collaboration with stakeholders, regulators, and law enforcement agencies to create a “One Government” approach bridging sectoral gaps.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to compensate subscribers who experience poor network quality in areas where service falls below prescribed standards.

In a statement issued on March 29 and signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Nnena Ukoha, the Commission said the directive requires operators to provide compensation in the form of airtime credits to affected users.

The NCC said subscribers should not bear the full burden of service deficiencies when operators fail to meet established Quality of Service (QoS) benchmarks.

Under the new measure, compensation will be calculated based on subscribers’ average spending patterns and their presence in specific Local Government Areas (LGAs) where service failures are recorded within defined periods.

“Erring operators will compensate affected users directly for breaches of Quality of Service Key Performance Indicators,” the Commission said.

The regulator noted that the policy marks a shift from a system where penalties were primarily imposed as fines on operators, to a more consumer-focused framework that ensures users receive direct relief.

Telecommunications services play a critical role in Nigeria’s economy, supporting commercial activities, social interaction, and access to digital services. The NCC said poor service quality has far-reaching consequences for productivity and public confidence in the communications system.

The Commission added that the directive complements ongoing efforts to strengthen service quality monitoring and enforce performance standards across the industry.

In addition to targeting service providers, the NCC also directed tower companies responsible for telecom infrastructure, such as masts, to reinvest fines into network improvements with measurable outcomes.

The regulator said it would continue to enforce obligations on operators to invest in network resilience, expand capacity, and upgrade infrastructure to meet growing demand.

It added that the new framework is designed to promote fairness, transparency, and accountability, while ensuring that subscribers receive the level of service expected in a modern telecommunications ecosystem.