About 200 bills from the National Assembly will be rendered useless following the recent ban on the establishment of new tertiary institutions.

The Federal Government on Wednesday imposed a seven-year moratorium on the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, citing the proliferation of under-utilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a decline in academic quality.

The decision was approved at the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following a presentation by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

While the freeze covers federal institutions, FEC also approved nine new universities at the meeting.

Alausa explained that the challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary education system was no longer access but inefficient duplication, poor infrastructure, inadequate staffing, and dwindling enrolment in many existing institutions.

He warned that unchecked proliferation of poorly subscribed institutions risked producing ill-prepared graduates, eroding the value of Nigerian degrees internationally, and worsening unemployment.

According to him, the moratorium would enable the government to channel resources into upgrading facilities, hiring qualified staff, and expanding the carrying capacity of existing institutions.

He stressed that if Nigeria wished to improve quality and avoid global embarrassment, the pragmatic step was to pause the establishment of new federal institutions.

The country currently has 72 federal universities, 42 federal polytechnics, and 28 federal colleges of education, in addition to hundreds of state-owned and private tertiary institutions, as well as specialized schools such as colleges of agriculture, health sciences, and nursing.

The nine newly approved universities were all private institutions whose applications had been pending for as long as six years.

Alausa explained that when the current administration assumed office, there were 551 applications for private universities, many of which had been stuck due to inefficiencies at the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The ministry deactivated over 350 dormant applications and introduced stricter guidelines, leaving 79 active cases, of which nine met the criteria and were approved.

This development means that bills in both the Senate and House of Representatives seeking to create new federal tertiary institutions will now be halted or abandoned.

Not less than 200 such bills will be affected.

The freeze also reflects the ethos of the Stephen Oronsaye Committee Report of 2012, which the Tinubu administration revived.

In February 2024, FEC ordered its full implementation, mandating a committee to rationalise government agencies within 12 weeks by merging, scrapping, or subsuming entities to curb duplication and reduce governance costs.

The report had recommended reducing statutory agencies from 263 to 161, scrapping 38, merging 52, and repositioning 14 as ministry departments.

By March 2025, however, many agencies remained untouched, raising doubts about the report’s actual execution.

Despite this cost-cutting push, lawmakers have pursued an aggressive spree of bills to create new federal tertiary institutions and agencies.

On July 10, 2025, during plenary, the Senate passed seven bills establishing new federal universities across the country.

Just a day earlier, it had passed four concurrence bills from the House of Representatives, and on July 9, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi sponsored a bill to create a School of Skills and Trade in Ebonyi State.

The bills passed on July 10 included the Federal University of Technology, Asaba, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko; Federal University of Technology, Offa, sponsored by Senator Lola Ashiru; Federal University of Technology, Omoku, sponsored by Senator Harry Banigo; Federal University of Technology, Odukpani, sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong; Federal University of Birnin Kebbi, sponsored by Senator Adamu Aliero; Federal University of Science and Technology, Epe, sponsored by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and Federal University of Sciences, Deba, sponsored by Senator Danjuma Goje.

Other establishment bills recently progressed in the Senate include the Federal University of Mining and Geosciences, Jos, sponsored by Senator Diket Plang; the Federal University of Information and Communication Technology, Ikare-Akoko; and the upgrade of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, to a university of technology.

In December 2024, the Senate also passed the Federal University of Education (Technical), Gombe State.

The House of Representatives has been no less prolific.

In January 2024 alone, members introduced 47 bills to establish new tertiary institutions.

It also proposed 32 new federal colleges of education, 11 federal colleges of agriculture, and five new polytechnics.

On May 20, 2025, the House order paper listed more than five establishment bills in a single sitting, including the Federal College of Nursing and Midwifery, Ifako-Ijaiye; the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skill Acquisition, Ifako-Ijaiye; the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Egbe; and the Federal Vocational and Entrepreneurship Institute, Okota/Oshodi.

Other bills sought to create a Federal Institute of Technical and Vocational Education in Imeko, Ogun State; a Federal University of Animal Health and Production Technology in Vom; and a Federal University of Technology in Osogbo, Osun State.

With over 200 bills in the pipeline aimed at creating new federal campuses, the moratorium effectively brings them to a standstill unless their sponsors choose to revise them.

Many are likely to be abandoned, while others may be reworked to focus on upgrading existing institutions, merging campuses, or expanding specialised departments.

Ambitious but poorly conceived proposals will likely disappear, sidelining lawmakers who depend on such projects for political visibility.

Those with a keener sense of the policy direction may reframe their initiatives around consolidation and enhancement rather than expansion.

In the months ahead, legislative committees may focus on optimising multi-campus models and strengthening existing institutions through targeted amendments.

This shift would align with the Oronsaye principle of smarter integration rather than unchecked multiplication.

For such bills to gain traction, they will need to demonstrate transparency, fiscal responsibility, and alignment with the administration’s emphasis on cost-effective governance.

Ultimately, Tinubu’s moratorium is more than a freeze; it is a test of the National Assembly’s willingness to abandon performative expansionism in favour of a disciplined, quality-driven legislative approach.

Lawmakers who adapt stand to remain relevant in shaping Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape over the next decade.

Those who do not risk being left behind in the evolving narrative of the 10th Assembly. (BusinessDay)