By our Reporter
Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa,
Honourable Minister of Education, has inaugurated the Governing Councils and Principal Officers of four newly established specialized federal universities, reaffirming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to reposition education as a driver of national transformation.
The universities are: Federal University of Agriculture and Technology, Okeho (Oyo); Federal University of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsafe (Zamfara); Yusuf Maitama Sule Federal University of Education, Kano; and Federal University of Education, Zaria (Kaduna).
Dr. Alausa described the institutions as a strategic response to urgent national challenges food security, public health, climate change, renewable energy, and innovation. He emphasized their roles as engines of economic growth, centres of community development, and platforms for building human capacity.
He highlighted the deliberate siting of Okeho in the agriculturally rich South-West and Tsafe in the North-West with its human and natural resources. The Minister urged the councils to provide visionary leadership, uphold accountability, and protect university autonomy.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sai’du Ahmad, called the inauguration a milestone in expanding equitable access to quality higher education.
Senator Yakubu Oseni, speaking for the appointees, pledged commitment to building world-class institutions aligned with government’s vision.
Dr. Alausa reaffirmed the Federal Government’s partnership with TETFund and global agencies to provide infrastructure, support research, and strengthen autonomy, declaring: “We want universities that are not just established but empowered to lead.”
