The Federal Government has approved the establishment of nine new private universities across Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the approval on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents following the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
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; and American Open University, Ogun State.
Alausa explained that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending applications for the establishment of tertiary institutions, which were subsequently subjected to stricter approval guidelines. He revealed the list was reduced to 79 active applications, out of which nine was approved on Wednesday.
“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 said.
Following the approvals, the Minister also announced a seven-year moratorium on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions.
