The Federal Government has given the green light for the establishment of nine new private universities across various states in the country.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during a briefing with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the minister, the newly approved institutions include:
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
Dr. Alausa disclosed that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending applications for the establishment of tertiary institutions. These applications were reviewed under stricter guidelines, leading to a reduction to 79 active applications, out of which nine have now been approved.
He explained that delays in processing were due to inefficiencies within the National Universities Commission (NUC). However, reforms have been introduced to streamline the approval process, and the current approvals mark progress in clearing the backlog.
The minister also reiterated the government’s decision to halt the creation of additional federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education for the time being.
