FG Grants Approval for 9 Additional Private Universities Nationwide (Full List)
The federal government has sanctioned the creation of nine additional private universities across Nigeria, increasing the number of privately owned tertiary institutions in the country to unprecedented levels.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made the announcement on Wednesday while addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was chaired by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The newly approved universities 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 disclosed that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending applications for the establishment of tertiary institutions.
These applications were reviewed under more stringent guidelines, reducing the number to 79 active cases — with the nine approved on Wednesday resolving a backlog that, in certain cases, had persisted for over six years.
“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.
He further mentioned that several of the approved institutions already had campuses and had invested billions of naira while awaiting accreditation.
A ban has now been placed on new applications for private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, except for those that meet the newly implemented operational standards.
