The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that presidential approval for the establishment of the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos State, was granted before the Federal Executive Council (FEC), imposed a seven-year moratorium on new federal tertiary institutions.
The ministry disclosed this in a series of posts on its official X handle on Sunday.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, confirmed President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the universities in Epe, Kachia, and Ogoniland ‘through a Presidential Executive Memo prior to the FEC’s decision’.
The ministry explained that the announcement of the Epe University came later due to the National Assembly’s 2025 annual recess, which delayed the passage and transmission of the establishment bill to the President.
As noted in another tweet, ‘The ministry explained that the announcement of the Epe University came later due to the National Assembly’s 2025 annual recess, which delayed the passage and transmission of the establishment bill to the President’.
Despite the clarification, the ministry reiterated the government’s commitment to the moratorium, stating, ‘The Federal Government remains fully committed to enforcing the seven-year moratorium on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions. The policy remains sacrosanct and binding’.
It was reported that the Federal Government announced the seven-year freeze on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education following concerns over the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources, and declining academic quality.
The moratorium was approved at FEC meeting presided over by Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following a presentation by Alausa.
Nine new universities, including the Epe institution, received approval despite the moratorium.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Alausa said, ‘The challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary education system is no longer access but inefficiency, poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and dwindling enrolment in many existing institutions’.
The clarification seeks to assure Nigerians that the government is committed to both the moratorium policy and the proper establishment of new federal universities approved before its implementation.
