The Federal Government says the approval for the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos State, was granted before a suspension was placed on the establishment of new tertiary institutions in the country.
The federal government had, in August 2025, imposed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, citing the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a drop in academic quality.
The decision was approved at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following a presentation by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.
The government recently announced the establishment of a new university in Lagos, with the approval eliciting reactions from Nigerians.
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However, the Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement on Sunday, November 9, said the presidential approval for the federal university in the Epe area of Lagos State was granted before the FEC adopted the seven-year moratorium on new tertiary institutions.
The ministry stated that Alausa confirmed that 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 Tinubu.
“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 added.
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