President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos State, even though the Federal Government had previously imposed a seven-year ban on creating new federal tertiary institutions.
The announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Thursday's plenary session. He confirmed that President Tinubu had signed the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe (Establishment) Bill 2025 into law.
"It is my honour to announce that the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe establishment bill 2025 has been assented to by Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu," Akpabio said.
He noted that the Senate had forwarded authenticated copies of the bill to the President, who subsequently returned two certified copies bearing his signature.
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"Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe establishment has come to stay," Akpabio declared, congratulating the people of Epe and Lagos State.
The Senate President also commended Tinubu for "opening the doors of education nationwide," describing the move as part of the administration's commitment to expanding access to specialized higher education.
The bill's sponsor, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, emphasized that the new university would focus on providing world-class education in core science and technology disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Civil Engineering, along with Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science--fields critical to advancing Nigeria's digital economy.
The development, however, comes just months after the Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Tinubu in August, approved a seven-year freeze on the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
At the time, Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa explained that the moratorium was introduced to address issues of under-utilization, inadequate infrastructure, and declining academic standards in existing institutions.
"Several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students," he said, citing the waste of government resources.
"If we want to improve quality and not be a laughing stock globally, the pragmatic step is to pause the establishment of new federal institutions."
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He clarified that while the suspension covered both public and private tertiary institutions, nine private universities were approved after satisfying the National Universities Commission (NUC)'s rigorous accreditation requirements.
Describing the reform as a "reset button" for Nigeria's education system, the minister reaffirmed Tinubu's commitment to academic excellence:
"Mr President believes fervently in education and has given us the mandate to ensure every Nigerian has access to the highest quality of education comparable to anywhere in the world."
Efforts to ascertain why the President approved the new university despite the existing ban were unsuccessful as of press time. The Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, said she would provide a response once she had obtained more information.
