Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, Ogun State, formerly the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, has grown from fewer than 10,000 students to more than 27,000 under the administration of its Rector and Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr Mukail Akinde, who disclosed that the institution had increased its academic programmes from 34 to more than 100 within four years of assuming office on September 27, 2022.
The development formed part of the institution's transformation as it prepares to complete its transition from a polytechnic to the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, according to a statement issued on Monday by the institution's Public Relations Officer, Sola Abiala. Akinde said the transition from the former Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, to the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, was progressing, although the process was being handled strategically. He disclosed that committees headed by Professor Ramon Bello, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, and Dr Charlotte Bose Iro-Idoro had made steady progress on the respective aspects of the transition. "Our people should know that the work of changing FPI to FUTI is progressing. Only that thing must be done strategically," he reiterated. "God willing, we are targeting the 2027/28 academic session as a start-off year."
Akinde said the institution, which previously had six schools, now had eight specialised schools, following the establishment of the School of Agriculture and the School of Art, Design and Printing Technology. The expansion has been accompanied by an increase in student enrolment, academic and non-academic staff strength, the number of PhD holders, infrastructure, research activities and funding through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The additional 66 programmes span a wide range of disciplines. Akinde explained that the institution had started several new departments to drive industrial growth in the country. "Some of these Departments and Divisions include Arts and Printing (Sculpture, Textile, Painting, Ceramics, etc.), Printing Technology, Metallurgical, Automotive, Auto-body, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Cement Technology, Welding and Fabrication, Renewable Energy, Agric Technology, Animal Health, Horticulture, Crops and Agric Extension, among others. From about 34 programmes, we now have 100," he said. The Welding and Fabrication and Cement Technology programmes were specifically designed to provide specialised manpower for Dangote Cement Plc at Ibese and other cement companies, as well as Dangote refineries, for industrial development in the country.
The university's research output has also produced tangible innovations. Akinde said the institution had patented a 3-in-1 electric tricycle incorporating solar and CNG technology; an IoT-integrated solar egg incubator and hatcher with dynamic environmental control; an integrated mixer and extruder for mechanised kokoro production; a motorised digester for palm oil extraction; a compact plastic bottle shredder; and a customised biometric system for student and staff attendance and access control. These breakthroughs reflect the institution's focus on applied research and technology transfer as it prepares for university status.
Akinde said the institution was also automating students' records and results dating back to 1979, with a target of producing transcripts within 24 hours. The digitisation of decades of academic records is a significant undertaking, but the Acting Vice-Chancellor described it as essential to improving service delivery and aligning the institution's administrative systems with the expectations of a university. The institution is also preparing for National Universities Commission verification, after which a new institutional Master Plan is expected to be finalised. An Academic Brief is being developed as part of the transition process.
Speaking on his fourth anniversary in office, Akinde said the achievements were the product of collective efforts by the governing council, principal officers, management, staff, students and unions. "We haven't done anything, other than that we have to do more collectively with the Council, Principal Officers, Deans, Directors, Heads of Department, Heads of Units, Staff, Students and the Unions," he said. His tone was notably measured, reflecting what he described as the collective nature of the institution's progress rather than personal achievement.
The transformation of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, into a federal university began in May 2025, when President Bola Tinubu signed the bill establishing the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, into law. The journey had begun nearly a decade earlier when Senator Solomon Adeola, then representing Lagos West, introduced bills in the Senate in 2017 to convert the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, into a technological university. The bill passed its first reading in 2017 and its second reading in 2024. It was finally passed by the 9th Senate and secured presidential assent on May 22, 2025. The establishment of FUTI was expected to bring significant benefits to the Ogun West Senatorial District, which had previously been without a federal university, including increased access to degree programmes in technological fields, enhanced educational infrastructure and economic growth for the host community.
The institution's transition to university status is one of several changes in Nigeria's higher education landscape in recent years. President Tinubu has approved the establishment of new federal universities across the country, including the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, and the University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Kaduna State, bringing the total number of federal universities to 64. The expansion reflects a policy of increasing access to tertiary education, although critics, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities, have argued that available funds should be used to strengthen existing institutions rather than establishing new ones. The Federal Government has defended the creation of new universities as necessary to absorb the growing number of qualified applicants who are unable to secure admission due to limited capacity. Over 1.5 million candidates sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination annually, but less than 30 per cent secure admission into federal universities.
For the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, the target of a 2027/28 take-off represents a critical milestone in a transition that has been years in the making. The institution has already begun to operate in many respects as a university, with the expansion of its schools, programmes and research output, and the automation of its records. The formal commencement of university operations will depend on the completion of the NUC verification process, the finalisation of the Academic Brief and Master Plan, and the resolution of any outstanding administrative and regulatory requirements. As Akinde put it, the work of changing FPI to FUTI is progressing, and the institution is targeting the 2027/28 academic session as its start-off year.
For the people of Ogun West and Ogun State at large, the transition represents an opportunity to access degree programmes in technological fields closer to home, reducing the need for students to travel long distances and pay high accommodation costs to attend federal universities outside the region. For Nigeria's higher education sector, it is another test of whether the expansion of access can be matched by quality, funding and infrastructure. As Akinde acknowledged, the achievements recorded so far are not a destination but a foundation, and the institution will need to continue working collectively to meet the expectations that come with university status.
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