FG Explains Why New University Was Approved Despite Seven-Year Moratorium

The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, approved the establishment of the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos State, prior to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) imposing a seven-year moratorium on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions.

In a statement signed by Folasade Boriowo, director of Press and Public Relations, Maruf Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, explained that the President had granted approval for the university through a Presidential Executive Memo before the FEC decision.

Alausa further stated that the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos; the Federal University of Science and Technology, Kachia, Kaduna State; and the Federal University of Environment and Technology, Tai and Koroma, in Ogoniland, Rivers State, were all simultaneously approved by President Tinubu.

He noted that the public announcement regarding the Epe university was made later because the Senate had gone on its 2025 annual recess before passing the establishment bill. According to him, the bill was passed when the National Assembly resumed, which caused a delay in its formal transmission to the President.

The Minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to enforcing the seven-year moratorium on the creation of new federal tertiary institutions, stressing that the policy remains “sacrosanct.”

He also assured that, apart from institutions already approved before the moratorium, no new federal universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education will be established during the stipulated period.