Tunji Alausa

The Federal Government has approved the establishment of nine new private universities across Nigeria, marking the first batch of approvals under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the decision on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa 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

Alausa revealed that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending requests for new tertiary institutions, which were reviewed under stricter approval guidelines. This process reduced the number to 79 active applications, with nine receiving clearance on Wednesday.

He noted that several of the approved universities had been awaiting accreditation for over six years, with their promoters having already built campuses and invested billions of naira.

“Due to inefficiencies within the NUC, approvals were delayed. We have since introduced reforms to streamline these processes, and today’s approvals are a result of clearing this backlog,” the minister stated.

Alausa also confirmed that the Federal Government has placed a moratorium on new applications for private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education — except for those that meet the newly established operational standards.