The Federal Government has approved the establishment of nine new private universities in Nigeria, marking a significant move to expand access to higher education.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the development on Wednesday during a press briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
List of Approved Private Universities: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 explained that the Tinubu administration inherited 551 pending requests for new tertiary institutions. After applying stricter evaluation criteria, only 79 active applications remained. From these, nine institutions were approved after meeting new operational standards.
“Many of these institutions have been waiting for over six years. Their promoters have already invested billions in infrastructure, but delays from the NUC slowed the process,” the Minister said.
He noted that recent reforms in the National Universities Commission (NUC) helped clear the backlog.
The Minister further announced a temporary suspension of new applications for private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education except for those that already meet updated standards.
