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147 Private Varsities In Nigeria [FULL LIST]
Data from the website of the National Universities Commission, the regulatory body for universities in Nigeria, revealed that there are currently 147 private universities spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of the federation.
As the demand for quality university education rises owing to industrial crises and issues of poor funding in the public tertiary education sub-sector, there seems to be a growing demand for private universities in the country.
Between January 1, 2023 and June 27, 2023, the NUC gave provisional licences to 37 private universities.
The PUNCH highlights the 147 private universities as approved by the NUC.
1. Babcock University, Ogun State
2. Madonna University, Anambra State
3. Igbinedion University, Edo State
4. Bowen University, Osun State
5. Benson Idahosa University, Edo state
6. Covenant University, Ogun state
7. Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos State
8. American University of Nigeria, Adamawa State
9. Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State
10. Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State
11. AI-Qalam University, Katsina, Katsina State
12. Bells University of Technology, Otta, Ogun State
13. Bingham University, New-Karu, Nasarawa State
14. Caritas University, Enugu, Enugu State
15. Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State
16. Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State
17. Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State
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18. Kwararafa University, Wukari, Taraba State
19. Redeemer’s University, Mowe, Ogun State
20. Renaissance University, Enugu, Enugu State
21. University of Mkar, Mkar, Benue State
22. Novena University, Ogume, Delta State
23. Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State
24. Veritas University, Abuja, FCT
25. Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State
26. African University of Science & Technology, Abuja
27. Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State
28. Fountain University, Oshogbo, Osun State
29. Obong University, Obong Ntak, Akwa Ibom State
30. Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State
31. Wesley University of Science & Technology, Ondo State
32. Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State
33. Salem University, Lokoja, Kogi State
34. Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti – Ekiti State
35. Godfrey Okoye University, Ugwuomu-Nike, Enugu State
36. Nigerian-Turkish Nile University, FCT Abuja
37. Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, Osun State
38. Paul University, Awka, Anambra State
39. Rhema University, Obama-Asa, Rivers State
40 Wellspring University, Evbuobanosa, Edo State
41. Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State
42. Baze University, FCT Abuja
43. Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State
44. Glorious Vision University (formerly Samuel Adegboyega University), Ogwa, Edo State
45. McPherson University, Seriki Sotayo, Ajebo, Ogun State
46. Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State
47. Southwestern University, Oku Owa, Ogun State
48. Evangel University, Ebonyi State
49. Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State
50. Augustine University, Ilara, Lagos State
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51. Chrisland University, Owode, Ogun State
52. Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State
53. Hallmark University, Ijebu-Itele, Ogun State
54. Kings University Ode-Omu, Osun State
55. Michael & Cecilia Ibru University, Owhode, Delta State
56. Mountain Top University, Makogi/Oba, Ogun State
57. Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene, Akwalbom State
58. Summit University, Offa, Kwara State
59. Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Delta State
60. Hezekiah University, Umudi, Imo State
61. Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos State
62. Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State
63. Clifford University, Abia State
64. Coal City University, Enugu state
65. Ojaja University, Ilorin, Kwara state
66. Dominican University, Ibadan, Oyo State
67. Kola Daisi University., Ibadan, Oyo State
68. Legacy University, Okija, Anambra State
69. Spiritan University, Neochi, Abia State
70. Precious Cornerstone, Ibadan, Oyo State
71. PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State
72. Atiba University, Oyo, Oyo State
73. Eko University of Medical Sciences, Ijanikin, Lagos
74. Skyline University, Nigeria, Kano, Kano State
75. Greenfield University, Kasarami-Kaduna, Kaduna State
76. Dominion University, Ibadan, Oyo State
77. Trinity University, Laloko, Ogun State
78. Westland University, Iwo, Osun State
79. Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa-Ibom State
80. Thomas Adewumi University, Oko-Irese, Kwara State
81. Maranatha University, Lekki, Lagos State
82. Ave-Maria University, Piyanko, Nasarawa State
83. AL-Istigama University, Sumaila, Kano State
84. Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State
85. Havilla University, Nde-Ikom, Cross River State
86. Claretian University of Nigeria, Nekede, Imo State
87. Karl-Kumm University, Vom, Plateau State
88. Nok University, Kachia, Kaduna State
89. James Hope University, Lekki, Lagos state
90. Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, Kano State
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91. Capital City University, Kano, Kano State
92. Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara State
93. University of Offa, Offa, Kwara State
94. Mewar University, Masaka, Nasarawa State
95. Edusoko University, Bida, Niger State
96. Philomath University, Kuje, Abuja
103. Sports University, Idumuje, Ugboko, Delta State
104. Baba-Ahmed University, Kano, Kano State
105. Saisa University Of Medical Sciences and Technology, Sokoto, Sokoto State
106. Nigerian British University, Asa, Abia State
107. Peter University, Achina-Onneh, Anambra State
108. Newgate University, Minna, Niger State
109. European University of Nigeria, Abuja, FCT
110. Northwest University, Sokoto, Sokoto State
111. Rayhaan University, Kebbi State
112. Muhammad Kamalud-Deen University, Ilorin, Kwara State
113. Sam Maris University, Supare, Ondo State
114. Aletheia University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State
115. Lux Mundi University, Umuahia, Abia State
116. Maduka University, Ekwegbe, Enugu State
117. Peaceland University, Enugu, Enugu State
118. Amadeus University, Amizi, Abia State
119. Vision University, Ikogbo, Ogun State
120. Azman University, Kano, Kano State
121. Huda University, Gusau, Zamfara State
122. Franco British International University, Kaduna, Kaduna State
123. Canadian University of Nigeria, Abuja, FCT
124. Miva Open University, Abuja, FCT
125. Gerar University of Medical Sciences, Imope-ljebu, Ogun State
126. British Canadian University, Obudu, Cross River State
127. Hensard University, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State
128. Phoenix University, Agwada, Nasarawa State
129. Wigwe University, Isiokpo, Rivers State
130. Hillside University of Science and Technology, Okemesi Ekiti, Ekiti State
131. University on the Niger, Umunya, Anambra State
132. Elrazi University of Medical Sciences, Kano Kano State
133. Venite University, Iloro-Ekiti, Ekiti State
134. Shanahan University, Onitsha, Anambra State
135. The Duke Medical University, Calabar, Cross River State
136. Mercy Medical University, Iwara, Iwo, Osun State
137. Cosmopolitan University, Abuja, FCT
138. Iconic Open University, Sokoto, Sokoto State
139. West Midland Open University, Ibadan, Oyo State
140. Amaj University, Abuja, FCT
141. Prime University, Abuja, FCT
142. El-Amin University, Niger State
143. College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna, Kaduna State
144. Jewel University, Gombe, Gombe State
145. Nigerian University of Technology and Management, Apapa, Lagos State
146. Al-Muhibbah Open University, Abuja, FCT
147. Al-Bayan University, Kogi state
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Tunde Smooth, Opudu, Lawuru To Grace Ijaw Media Conference As Preparation Enters Top Gear
All is now set for the second edition of the Ijaw Media Conference scheduled to hold on December 17, 2025 in Warri, Delta State. The first edition was held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on December 13, 2024, attracting dignitaries both far and near in the Ijaw.
The second edition of the annual conference with the theme: ‘Safeguarding Niger Delta’s Natural Resources for Future Generations’, is organised by the Ijaw Publishers Forum.
Amongst dignitaries to grace this year’s conference are the Bolowei of Niger Delta, Chief Tunde Smooth, who is expected as father of the day while
the Chairman Delta, Waterways and Land Security, Chief Boro Opudu, and Delta-born billionaire, High Chief Promise Lawuru are expected as guests of honour respectively.
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The Chairman, Central Working Committee of the conference Arex Akemotubo, said the event was aimed at discussing the challenging facing the Niger Delta region and the Ijaw nation in particular, and charting a course through the media.
According to Akemotubo, this year’s theme was chosen out of concern for the growing strain on the region’s land and waters, and discussing the way forward.
The Publisher of WaffiTV stressed that the Ijaw Publishers Forum is poised in strengthening public understanding, supporting honest reportage, and encourage leaders to protect what the Niger Delta holds for the next generation.
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OPINION: Idiocracy, Senators And Children Of Food
By Lasisi Olagunju
For ten clean years (November 2015 to 7 October, 2025), Mahmud Yakubu was the chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On 29 November, 2025, fifty three days after he left that impartial office, he became a beneficiary of the election he refereed; he was made an ambassador by the president.
Yakubu is not a stand-alone actor. From July 2017 to December 2021, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda was the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State. On 24 October, 2024 he became a minister of the Federal Republic. The man’s blessing blossomed on 24 July, 2025 when he was appointed the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress.
Yakubu and Yilwatda are teachers. They are getting their rewards here and now on earth; not in heaven. There should be many more like them inside and outside INEC. The electoral commission is now well and properly fixed inside the chambers of power.
We wait to see who will match their regiment: INEC and politicians of all hues, gunners and guns and the court mass into a mega-camp. Has this happened? Has it not? You still wonder why every governor, every senator, their mistresses and concubines and paramours take their tent into the IDP camp named APC? Samuel Butler was right: Self-preservation is the first law of nature.
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” It is no longer necessary for the ruling caste to scheme, manoeuvre and listen to the above counsel of Sun Tzu and his ‘The Art of War.’ Resistance is dead, opposition is buried, so why should the president’s battle plans be made again under the cover of darkness?
President Bola Tinubu does not pretend. Piss into the stream if you can; defecate into the pond. It is the lily-livered who asks toad and frog and their cousins to close their eyes before doing so. This is where we are.
But, this piece is not about those defecators. This is about the hollow men in Nigeria’s hallowed chambers. This is on our senatorial children of food; large, privileged boars in our Animal Farm.
Child of food is omo oúnje in Yoruba. When you take your seat at every dining table; when you become uncontrollable or overly excited at the sight of food, you are omo oúnje, and you get the label. And, you do not have to be a child to be so called. Adults who forget themselves when food appears are children.
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Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, read a letter to his colleagues last week, a dinner invitation from the First Lady to the Senate. The ‘overly excited’ Senate President concluded the reading on a note of self-revelation. He said: “This is like an invitation by a mother to her children. I wish you sumptuous meal and fruitful discussion…We all meet there on Friday.”
Our senators are children. Now we know.
I did not hear any of the other 108 senators say their president was wrong; that an arm of government paid and pampered to vet and check the acts and actions of the executive should not be found snoring in the kitchen of the Villa. They all love their status as nurslings; they flaunt it. Shame on the enemy who are jealous of the chummy, yummy relationship between Nigeria’s lawmakers and the president’s kitchen.
It is most likely that the First Lady rejoices at having almighty senators, big men and women of power, as her children. The Villa is a shrine; it exists to be worshipped by big men, small men; sycophantic sucklings. The air that keeps the bees there humming is flattery; its synonym is unctuous praise.
Flattery, my dictionary says, is “excessive and insincere praise, given especially to further one’s own interests.” That is the ‘gold’ coin which Akpabio offered the First Lady.
The author of ‘Maximes’ and ‘Memoirs’, François de la Rochefoucauld (1613 –1680) has a deprecating line: “Flattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.” No one should tell anyone that accepting and spending fake, adulatory notes have consequences. “He that loves to be flattered is worthy of the flatterer” (Timon in Shakespeare’s ‘Timon of Athens’, Act I, Scene 1).
Those who enjoy flattery deserve the consequences of sycophancy. That is what Timon says in the above quote, in bitterness and in regret.
Why would adults we invested with legislative powers look at themselves and say they are children of the president’s wife? And what are the implications for the recipient of the (un)solicited sycophancy?
One morning, a fox was walking through the woods looking for something to eat. He looked up and saw a crow sitting on a tree branch. He had seen many crows before, but this one caught his eye because she was holding a piece of cheese in her beak.
The fox immediately thought, “Perfect! That cheese will make a great breakfast.”
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He walked to the base of the tree and looked up at the crow. “Good morning, beautiful bird!” he called out.
The crow looked down at him with suspicion. She didn’t trust him, so she kept her beak tightly closed around the cheese and said nothing.
The fox continued, pretending to admire her. “What a lovely bird you are! Your feathers shine, your body is perfect, and your wings are wonderful. A bird as perfect as you must also have a beautiful voice. If you would just sing one song, I would gladly call you the Queen of all Birds.”
Hearing all these sweet compliments, the crow forgot her doubts, and even forgot the cheese she was holding. Wanting to prove she deserved the praise, she opened her beak to let out her loudest caw.
Of course, the cheese fell straight down—right into the waiting mouth of the fox.
“Thank you,” said the fox, smiling as he walked away. “Your voice is great; if only you added brains and caution to all your other qualifications, you would make a great queen.”
Aesop, ancestral teller of the original of the story above, did not forget to add that its moral is that people who listen to flattery often pay the price for it.
That story and the caution it conveys are for the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, because of whose food Senator Godswill Akpabio pronounced her “mother” and all senators her “children” last week.
English philosopher and statesman, Francis Bacon, in ‘The Advancement of Learning’, wrote of a senator who once stood up in a full Roman debate and proposed that Tiberius, their emperor, be declared a god. The philosopher used this incident to illustrate what he called the lowest form of sycophancy. Even in that world of excessive praise, Roman senators never thought of calling themselves the children of the emperor. For a modern democratic legislature to refer to the spouse of the head of the executive as “mother” is worse than the flattery Bacon mocked.
What Akpabio blithely said is casual but deep. It collapses the constitutional separation of powers into a family drama where elected lawmakers become puny dependents seeking favour. If ancient Rome saw such gestures as the death of democracy and republican dignity, then the Nigerian Senate’s metaphor is an even clearer sign of institutional self-infantilisation.
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Akpabio and his Senate’s excessive fawing inadvertently situate their chamber in Jean Piaget’s immature stage of infantile thinking, one ruled by deference and emotional dependence.
Yet, an independent legislature is the reason we say democracy is better than all other forms of government, including military rule.
‘The American Mercury’ was an American magazine which was on the newsstand from 1924 to 1981. Its July 1937 edition contains an article with the headline: ‘Crooks in the Legislature.’ The magazine withheld the name of the author of the article “for obvious reasons” but said it published his story “as a factual record, believing it typical of most state legislatures.” From the eight-page article I picked this paragraph in celebration of the legislative content of our democracy: “Putting summary ahead of detail, I may say that ten percent of legislators come perilously close to being racketeers; twenty-five percent are primarily venal in their attitude toward such legislation as is capable of being turned to advantage; another twenty-five percent will accept money for their votes on bills which do not vitally affect the general public and in which they have no personal interest; another twenty-five percent, who do not accept money, are moved often by personal and group relationships, including retainers, business arrangements, political advantage, patronage demands, etc.; and about fifteen percent are, or think they are, above suspicion of judging legislation other than on its merits –although I never have met one who could take an utterly detached viewpoint even when unconscious of personal interest. Unadulterated altruism has yet to come within my purview. Paradoxically, some of the crookedest legislators in my state are among the ablest in their consideration of measures.” That was democracy and the parliament in the United States of 88 years ago. Take a look at what we have in 2025 Nigeria, you may add the US.
Senator Akpabio and other children of food are not alone in the kitchen with the one who holds the yam and the knife of this lavish feast. The press is the fourth estate of the realm; it routinely gets compelled (or it compels itself) to do what Akpabio did. The judiciary is the third leg of the dining table; it stands up for power and privileges and, for their songs of praise.
In ‘How Democracies Die’, Harvard political scientists, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, want to know if the American democracy is in danger. And, in every word, every sentence and every paragraph of that 2018 book are hints that suggest an affirmative answer to that question. They say: “This is how we tend to think of democracies dying: at the hands of men with guns…But (now) there is another way to break a democracy. It is less dramatic but equally destructive. Democracies may die at the hands, not of generals, but of elected leaders—presidents or prime ministers who subvert the very process that brought them to power.”
Lagbaja, the masked musician, sang at the beginning of this democracy that it must not die (democracy yi ko gbodo ku). But, if this democracy was a child, it would qualify as a foolish child. And a foolish child is as useless, lifeless as a dead child. There is a Yoruba proverb that explains it deeply: A child lacks wisdom, and they say the child must not die; what else kills faster than lack of wisdom? Dying is not the absence of life; it is the lack of useful existence.
Senators are children of the president. “Are we living in the age of stupid? The era of the idiot? The answer of course is yes, with examples of monstrous moronicism everywhere.” That is the verdict of film critic and Guardian Australia writer, Luke Buckmaster, four years ago. He thinks democracy has become a government of idiots, by idiots for idiots. “If this is already the era of the idiot, what comes next?” He asks, and the answer, according to him, is: “An Idiocracy.” Idiocracy is a pick on the title of Mike Judge’s 2006 dystopian comedy.
Do not hesitate to apply the above to my lot and to your lot. The ways and strays of this democracy remind me of the famous ending of T. S. Eliot’s ‘Hollow Men’, a 1925 poem about a state in paralysis: “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”
Democracy dies where the legislature celebrates its becoming the executive’s puny child, mother hen’s brood. That is what the “children” in our Red Chamber do. The rot is complete when you add to that tragedy the press paying to play with the Villa, and the judiciary upstanding in deference to the president’s personal anthem: ‘On Your Mandate We Shall Stand’.
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FULL LIST: FG Lists Nigerian Veterans For Honours To Celebrate 100 Years Of Aviation Industry
The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled Nigerian veterans and distinguished aviators to be honoured for pioneering contributions that have shaped Nigeria’s aviation industry over the past century.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the event in an X post on Saturday, describing the awardees as “icons whose vision and dedication laid the groundwork for Nigeria’s aviation success.”
He also shared photos of some of the honourees ahead of the event slated for Monday, December 1, 2025 at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
According to him, the recognition is part of activities marking 100 years of aviation in Nigeria, tracing the sector’s evolution from colonial era to its present status as a critical contributor to the country’s economy.
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“The first ever aircraft to land in Nigeria was in Kano in 1925. As a result, we are celebrating 100 years of aviation in Nigeria this year. On Monday, December 1, 2025, at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Center, Abuja, we shall celebrate this milestone with a number of performances and events, including honouring veterans of the aviation industry in the last 100 years. We are inviting all aviation stakeholders to the event,” he wrote.
Below are the list of some of the Nigerian veterans who have shaped the aviation industry, as shared by the Aviation Minister:
Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, founder of Okada Air.
Late Alhaji Ahmadu Dan kabo, founder of Kabo Air.
Capt Robert Hayes, Nigeria’s first certified pilot.
Chief Mbazulike Amechi, former Minister of Aviation and instrumental in establishing Nigerian Airways.
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Chief Allen Ifechukwu Onyeama, Air Peace founder, promoted local content and invested in Nigerian youths’ training.
Dr Emmanuel Enekwechi, contributed to the aviation industry’s growth.
Capt. August Okpe, founder and CEO of Okpe Aviation Services, Nigeria’s first indigenous aviation engineering company.
Sen. Hadi Sirika, former Minister of Aviation, initiated policies like the national carrier launch.
Capt Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, pioneered Nigeria’s aviation industry and transformed airports into world-class facilities.
Capt Ado Sanusi
Chief Wale Babalakin
Sir Joseph Arumemi
Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu
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Capt Dele Ore
Capt Wale Makinde
Capt Ibrahim Mshella
Capt Dapo Olumide
Ms Bimbo Sosina
Capt Benoni Briggs
Mrs Deola Olukunle
Dr Thomas Ogunbangbe
Capt Edward Boyo
Dr Gbenga Olowo
Elder Dr Soji Amusan
Engr Awogbemi Clement
Sen Musa Adede
Georg Eder MBA
Capt Prex Porbeni
Mrs Folashade Odutola
Dr Taiwo Afolabi OON
Capt Fola Adeola
Dr Seindemi Fadeni
Capt Chinyere Kali
Harold Demure
Akin Olateru
Mr George Urensi
Mrs Deola Yesufu
Engr Babatunde Obadofin
Dr Ayo Obilana
Capt Felix Iheanacho
Capt Peter Adenihun
Capt Jonathan Ibrahim
Pa Odeleye AC
Capt Toju Ogidi
Pa Abel Kalu Ukonu
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