The
Chairman of the National Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), Professor Peter Okebukola has lauded Nigerian universities for another brilliant outing at the 2025 World University Rankings which was released at midnight on Wednesday October 9, in Manchester, UK at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on return from the Summit, Professor Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, noted that Nigerian universities did Africa proud and have maintained a winning streak over the last three years since NURAC was established by Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC) and endorsed by the former Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu. Adamu.
Providing further details, Professor Okebukola noted that globally, University of Oxford was ranked 1st followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2nd); Harvard University (3rd); Princeton University (4th); University of Cambridge (5th); Stanford University (6th); California Institute of Technology (7th); University of California, Berkeley (8th); Imperial College London (9th) and Yale University (10th).
According to him, Covenant University is the only Nigerian university that made the 1000 best universities in the world grade in the rankings.
” At the Manchester event where the rankings were unveiled, Covenant University was given the thumbs up. It is ranked among the 801-1000 band.
” Covenant University has consistently outpaced all 274 Nigerian universities and most of the universities in the whole of Africa.
” For the purpose of this report, Okebukola equated the top 1000 universities as “Band A”. Band B universities according to the Okebukola classification are those that are ranked between 1000 and 1200.
“Nigeria proudly had four universities in this band- Ahmadu Bello University; Landmark University; University of Ibadan; and University of Lagos; Next are the Band C universities that are ranked between 1201 and 1500.
“These are Bayero University; Federal University of Technology Akure; Federal University of Technology, Minna; University of Benin; University of Ilorin; and University of Nigeria Nsukka. Band D universities have rankings after 1500. These are Ekiti State University; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Federal University Oye-Ekiti; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology; Lagos State University; Nnamdi Azikiwe University; Obafemi Awolowo University; University of Port Harcourt; and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
“Universities that are yet to fall into Bands A, B, C and D, that is, qualified for being ranked are in the reporter category. These universities are yet to meet the threshold of having at least 1000 citations for all staff in the university.
According to Okebukola,” the joy is that these universities are “on the way leading to qualification for ranking.”
In the 2025 World University Rankings, the following Nigerian universities fell within the reporter category. These, in alphabetical order, are Abia State University; Akwa Ibom State University; Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike; Ambrose Alli University; Baze University; Bells University of Technology; Benson Idahosa University; Bowen University; Delta State University, Abraka; Evangel University, Akaeze; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun; Godfrey Okoye University; Lagos State University of Education; Lagos State University of Science and Technology; Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Niger Delta University; Nile University of Nigeria; Osun State University; Rivers State University; Thomas Adewumi University; University of Cross River State; University of Maiduguri; and Veritas University, Abuja.
