Tinubu’s government establishing more universities amid funding crisis

Despite severe funding shortfalls in Nigeria’s existing public universities, President Bola Tinubu has established 12 new tertiary institutions since taking office in May 2023, with no sustainable funding plan in place.

Last year, several universities couldn’t pay their electricity bills and lost power. The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) cut off Ahmadu Bello University from power supply after the university spent over ₦1 billion on electricity between January and October. Earlier in August, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) disconnected the University of Lagos after it failed to pay the ₦472 million bills it owed.

At the University of Benin, students protested when the campus went dark because the school couldn’t afford the higher electricity costs. The University of Ibadan almost cut power to just 10 hours per day, causing students to protest until the school quickly denied the memo after the protest.

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Also, the 2025 proposed budget reveals major shortfalls for university operations. Ahmadu Bello University is only getting ₦511 million for daily operations (including electricity), even though it spent ₦1 billion on electricity alone last year. The University of Lagos is only getting ₦510 million for operations, and the University of Ibadan gets just ₦502 million. These amounts are nowhere near what these schools need to function properly.

Yet, President Tinubu has continued establishing new institutions. Since May 2023, he has created 8 new universities, 2 new polytechnics, and 2 new colleges of education. The latest additions are the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies in Osun State and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Ekiti State, both established on February 20.

To compensate for inadequate funding, universities across Nigeria have increased student fees by more than 100% in many cases. These increases have continued despite student protests and President Tinubu’s July 2023 directive to universities to avoid arbitrary fee hikes. The government maintains that Nigerian tertiary institutions remain tuition-free, with students paying only for sundry charges, but these charges have risen dramatically.