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Group tells education minister to stop lying over online degrees
A group known as Concerned Education Stakeholders has asked Suwaiba Ahmad, minister of state for education, to retract her remarks on the accreditation of open and distant learning (ODL) universities in Nigeria, describing the comments as misleading.
In an interview with DCL English aired on Thursday, the minister said the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is the only recognised institution offering online degree programmes in the country.
“In Nigeria, the National Open University (NOUN) is recognised, as it has all the instrumentality of ensuring quality education. It’s accredited and follows due process. So, we recognised the NOUN to run online programmes.
“But in the country for now, that is the only recognised institution running online degree programmes.
“Of course, there are different professional online programmes which are professional programmes, and we don’t have any issue with that.”
The minister, who acknowledged that online learning is gaining popularity in Nigeria, advised prospective students to visit the federal ministry of education’s support services website to verify accredited institutions and programmes before applying for admission.
“In the education support services, we have a website. In that website, there are all the accredited and acceptable institutions by the Nigerian government.
“So, I advise anybody going for his degree programme to visit the website to ensure that the programme and institution is accredited and acceptable by the Nigerian government.”
However, in a statement co-signed by Jerry Ini and Yusuf Maso and issued in Abuja on Saturday, the group said the minister’s remarks had generated fear, anxiety and uncertainty among students, parents and other stakeholders.
According to the group, the comments had created the false impression that many universities offering online and distance learning in Nigeria were operating illegally or without the necessary approvals.
“We are particularly concerned by the minister’s assertion that only the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is approved to offer university degrees through the open and online learning mode in Nigeria. This statement is factually incorrect,” the statement reads.
The group said Nigeria currently has seven fully licensed open universities approved by the federal government through the National Universities Commission (NUC), in addition to 34 approved distance learning centres operating within conventional universities.
It added that the current administration approved the licences of two private open universities in 2025, while the administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari approved four others.
“These institutions are authorised to deliver recognised academic programmes through Open, Distance, and Online Learning (ODL) in accordance with established regulatory standards.”
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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