The Federal Government has given the green light for the establishment of nine new private universities across Nigeria. Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the approvals on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The newly approved institutions are:
- Tazkiyah University, Kaduna State
- Leadership University, Abuja
- Jimoh Babalola University, Kwara State
- Bridget University, Mbaise, Imo State
- Greenland University, Jigawa State
- JEFAP University, Niger State
- Azione Verde University, Imo State
- Unique Open University, Lagos State
- American Open University, Ogun State
According to Alausa, the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending applications for new tertiary institutions. After applying stricter approval guidelines, the number was reduced to 79 active proposals, out of which nine secured approval on Wednesday.
He noted that several of the cleared universities had been awaiting accreditation for over six years, with their promoters already investing billions of naira in infrastructure.
“Due to inefficiencies within the NUC, approvals were delayed. We have since introduced reforms to streamline the process, and today’s approvals are part of clearing that backlog,” the minister explained.
Alausa added that the Federal Government has now placed a moratorium on fresh applications for private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, except those that meet the new operational standards.
