The Federal Ministry of Education has disclosed that presidential approval for the establishment of the Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, Lagos State, was granted before the Federal Executive Council, imposed a seven-year moratorium on the new institutions.
The ministry made this known in a series of posts on its official X handle while 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.
Reacting to this, while speaking with a professor in University of Lagos, the professor whose name is withheld told All Campus Show reporter that Nigeria is a country where anything happens. He also lamented that this case is government versus government. "It would have been better understood if it was a private university but this has to do with government university, I urge government to do a thorough research on this to know the motive behind this and bring those behind it to judgement"