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JUST IN: FG opposes N/Assembly’s proposals for 200 new varsities
The federal government has expressed opposition to the proposals by the National Assembly for creation of nearly 200 new universities in the country.
It said with almost 200 bills in the National Assembly for establishment of new universities, there is a growing concern that the system is becoming overwhelmed.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, stated this in Abuja yesterday during the third edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing.
The country currently has 278 universities, 64 of which are federal; 67, state; and 147, private.
The government had, last month, announced a one-year moratorium on the establishment of new private universities “to enhance the quality and sustainability of private universities, ensuring that only institutions with the necessary financial and academic capacity are granted licenses.”
The minister yesterday emphasised that strengthening the capacities of the existing universities is more important than establishing new ones.
He said: “They (lawmakers) are passing a lot of bills. Today, I can tell you that there are almost 200 bills in the National Assembly. We can’t continue like this.
Even though we have a lot of them, the capacity for a university to admit is not there. What we need to do now is to rebuild the capacities so that we can offer more viable courses to our citizens.
“We need to stop this (the 200 bills for new universities) from happening. There is so much pressure on the president. We have to, at least, be sensitive to it as well.
“I understand the sentiment of our legislators. They want to show that they are working. We know they are working. But then, we have enough assets, we have enough opportunities out there for students to go to universities.
“What we now need to do is to begin to mobilise more resources to develop infrastructures, build engineering workshops, build laboratories in these universities, recruit international standard teachers, so that we can begin to get these universities to develop, to deliver high quality of education that will be known for as a country.
“Today, if you care to know, we have 64 federal universities, 67 state universities and 147 private universities.
If you look at the entire enrolment together, the private universities account for just 7.5% of total undergraduate enrolment.
I will tell you the meaning of the number. The total number of undergraduate enrolments today is just about 875,000, which is, at least, fairly low.
“We have universities with less than 1,000 undergraduate students, and there is this intense demand for more universities to be opened. We have to stop that.”
however, it is not only the legislators that are obsessed with pushing for the establishing of universities as constituency project or for status symbol.
News
Public holidays: FG declares December 25, 26, and January 1
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the public holidays on behalf of the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has declared Thursday, December 25, and Friday, December 26, as well as Thursday, January 1, 2026, as public holidays to mark the Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year celebrations.
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the public holidays on behalf of the Federal Government.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Interior, Dr Magdalene Ajani, the minister extended warm Christmas and New Year felicitations to Christians in Nigeria and across the world.
He extended the same gestures “to all Nigerians as they celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of a new one”.
Tunji-Ojo urged Christians to reflect on the virtues of love, peace, humility, and sacrifice as exemplified by the birth of Jesus Christ, noting that these values are critical to promoting unity, tolerance, and harmony in the nation.
News
KWAM1 loses bid to block Awujale selection process
KWAM1 had declared his interest in the vacant Awujale stool, claiming lineage from the Jadiara Royal House of the wider Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
• KWAM1
The Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode has refused to grant popular Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, alias KWAM1, an interim injunction aimed at restraining Governor Dapo Abiodun and five others from proceeding with the selection and installation of the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
Ayinde, represented in court by Wahab Shittu (SAN), had on Monday, sought the injunction pending the hearing of his substantive suit challenging the selection process.
But Justice A. A. Omoniyi dismissed the application, holding that the interim injunction lacked merit and that there were no strong grounds to justify its grant.
He subsequently ordered the expedited hearing of the substantive matter, fixing 14 January 2026 for proceedings.
KWAM1 had declared his interest in the vacant Awujale stool, claiming lineage from the Jadiara Royal House of the wider Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
However, the Fusengbuwa ruling house rejected his claim, stating that he is not from the royal house.
To challenge what he perceived as injustice, Ayinde filed a suit against the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Governor Abiodun, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, and three others
News
November Petrol supply rises 55% to 71.5m litres daily
The report revealed that the domestic refineries supply in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) November Fact -Sheets indicated that the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October. This was an increase of 55 per cent.
In the report released yesterday, the agency said that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, compared to the 28.9 million litres in October,. an excess of 37.4 million litres.
It said that the volume supplied came from both the domestic and the international market.
NMDPRA noted that the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.
Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October which spilled into November.
The report revealed that the domestic refineries supply in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.
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