FG Approves Establishment of 9 New Private Universities

The Federal Government has given the green light for nine new private universities to begin operations across Nigeria, in a move aimed at expanding access to higher education and easing long-standing bottlenecks in the licensing process.

The approval was announced on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, following a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja.

According to Dr. Alausa, the decision comes after the Ministry reviewed and streamlined a massive backlog of applications inherited from previous administrations. 

Out of 551 pending requests for the establishment of new tertiary institutions, only 79 were found to meet the stricter guidelines recently introduced and from that pool, the nine universities were selected.

“Some of these applications had been pending for over six years due to inefficiencies within the National Universities Commission (NUC). 

We’ve introduced reforms to make the process more transparent and efficient, and today’s approvals are a direct outcome of clearing that backlog,” the minister explained.

The Nine Newly 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 revealed that several of the approved institutions already have physical campuses and have invested billions of naira in preparation for their launch while waiting for final accreditation.

He also noted that the Tinubu administration has placed a moratorium on fresh applications for new private universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, except for those able to meet the new operational benchmarks. 

This, he said, is in line with government policy to halt unnecessary duplication of institutions and to focus resources on strengthening existing facilities.

The minister stressed that the newly approved universities represent a strategic effort to boost educational capacity without compromising quality.

With these approvals, Nigeria’s private higher education landscape continues to expand, offering more choices to students while also setting higher operational standards for prospective institution owners.