The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is set to deliver the Pre-Convocation Lecture at the 45th Convocation Ceremony of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
The lecture, scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026, will be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to a statement from the university, the event will take place at the Abdullahi Mahadi Conference Centre, ABU Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria, and forms part of activities marking the institution’s 45th convocation.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian Minister of Finance and current head of the WTO, served twice as Finance Minister between 2003 and 2006, and again from 2011 to 2015, and briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006. During her first tenure as Finance Minister, she led negotiations with the Paris Club that resulted in the cancellation of US$30 billion of Nigeria’s external debt, including an outright write-off of US$18 billion.
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The Convocation Ceremony will hold on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Mamman Kontagora Square, ABU Main Campus.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, said preparations for the event are at an advanced stage and assured of a successful convocation.
Also expected at the Pre-Convocation Lecture are the Chancellor of the University, His Majesty Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, and the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, alongside visiting vice-chancellors, captains of industry, bankers, technocrats and other dignitaries.
The university has invited members of the public to attend both the lecture and the convocation ceremony.
