Mrs. Akpabio pledged to collaborate with fellow awardees, particularly the FCT Minister, to support the university’s infrastructural development.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – As part of activities marking its golden anniversary, the University of Calabar (UNICAL) on Saturday, March 22, 2025, conferred an honourary doctorate degree in Education Management on Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio, wife of the Senate President.
The ceremony which held at the university’s main campus in Calabar, Cross River State, also saw the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, receiving an honourary doctorate degree in Law.
Other awardees included Major General Moses Bisong Obi (rtd), with a Doctor of Peace and Conflict Studies, and Supreme Court Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Obi, who was conferred with a Doctor of Law.
The 15th Emir of Kano and Chancellor of the University, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, performed the conferment.
In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Akpabio expressed gratitude to the university’s Governing Council and Management for the recognition.
“I am happy to be honoured with this award from the prestigious University of Calabar that I have heard so much about from my dear husband, an alumnus of this great institution,” she said in a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media/Communication to the Senate President, Anietie Ekong.
“I was wondering when I would join him as a great Malabress, and that day has come. I am grateful to the university for this honour,” she added.
Mrs. Akpabio pledged to collaborate with fellow awardees, particularly the FCT Minister, to support the university’s infrastructural development.
The university, in a citation, commended Mrs. Akpabio for her philanthropic and humanitarian contributions through her non-governmental organization, the Family Life Enhancement Initiative.
She was recognised as a champion of women’s rights and an advocate for increased female participation in governance, a cause she pursued as the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State.
Wike, in his remarks, said he was honoured to be among the recipients. He lauded the Visitor of the University, President Bola Tinubu, for his commitment to advancing tertiary education in Nigeria.