- LASU holds its 29th & 30th Convocation Lecture on August 18, 2026, at Buba Marwa Auditorium, Ojo campus
- NiDCOM boss Abike Dabiri-Erewa delivers the lecture on harnessing the diaspora as Nigeria’s “7th region”.
- Rep. Wale Raji, Epe federal lawmaker, chairs the event.
Hon. Wale Raji, member representing Epe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) are set to headline Lagos State University’s (LASU) 29th and 30th Convocation Lecture.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that while Raji is set to chair the event, themed “From LASU to the World: Harnessing the Nigerian Diaspora as the 7th Region for National Development,” Dabiri-Erewa will deliver the lecture.
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The lecture holds next Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at the Buba Marwa Auditorium, Main Campus, Ojo, starting 9:00 a.m.
The university says the lecture is open to the university community, alumni, graduands, distinguished guests and the general public.
Dabiri-Erewa’s appointment as convocation lecturer places a familiar figure at the podium. She was born in Jos, Plateau State, though she hails from Ikorodu in Lagos State. She holds an honorary doctorate in Arts, Broadcasting, Community Integration, and Human Rights Advocacy from LASU itself.
Her career began in broadcasting. She spent 15 years at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), standing out for using journalism to support Nigerians, especially children and women, and investigating cases like the story of “Mary, the miracle baby”.
That public profile carried her into politics: she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2003, 2007 and 2011, representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency, and chaired the House Committees on Media and Public Affairs, then on Diaspora Affairs, from 2003 to 2015. She chose not to seek a fourth term, saying she wanted to give others a chance.
From there, she served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora from 2016 to 2019, before her current role. She is the pioneer Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, a commission set up to harness the potential of Nigerians in diaspora networks and organisations, a mandate that lines up directly with the theme she’s been invited to speak on.
Under her watch, NiDCOM has pushed diaspora-facing initiatives, including a recent partnership with InnoPower Africa to link young Nigerian professionals abroad to remote job opportunities.
Chairing the lecture is Raji, the federal lawmaker for Epe, a constituency with a direct link to LASU’s Lagos geography. Epe sits within Lagos State, home to LASU’s Epe campus, giving the pairing of speaker and chair a shared regional thread even as their national profiles differ.
His legislative career has spanned a decade in the House. He was first elected in the 2015 elections, re-elected in 2019, and again in 2023, all under the All Progressives Congress. That 2023 win was historic for the constituency: it made him the first lawmaker in Epe Federal Constituency’s history to secure a third term. He currently chairs the House Committee on Livestock Development.
FURTHER READING
Raji is already in pole position for a fourth term ahead of 2027 after winning his primary election in a landslide, with his political strength built on sustained grassroots presence and a record of project delivery across education, infrastructure and social intervention programmes in Epe.
Click to watch the video of the week below:
