The Federal Government has dismissed circulating social media reports alleging that Nigeria has 2,000 universities and that the National Universities Commission (NUC) uncovered about 100 fake professors across the country, describing the claims as fabricated, recycled misinformation aimed at undermining public confidence in the nation’s higher education system.
The clarification was issued in Abuja on Saturday, November 14, 2026, in an official statement released by the Federal Ministry of Education. Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, stated that the regulatory agency neither declared the existence of 2,000 universities nor authored any list of fraudulent professors.
”The National Universities Commission has never declared the existence of 2,000 universities in Nigeria or published, endorsed, or authenticated the purported list of individuals circulating online as fake professors,” the statement read.
Tracing the origin of the viral falsehoods, the Ministry explained that the claim regarding fake professors is a distorted recycling of a media report published nearly seven years ago, on December 3, 2019.
That 2019 report centered on a routine verification exercise conducted by the NUC to update its directory of full professors in Nigerian universities. According to Folasade, the original 2019 publication did not contain the list of 100 names currently being shared online, which the NUC has long disowned.
Dr. Alausa expressed deep concern over the persistent recirculation of debunked narratives, warning that such deliberate distortions threaten to erode trust in Nigerian academic institutions and overshadow ongoing federal reforms aimed at strengthening quality assurance in the education sector.
The Federal Ministry of Education urged media organisations, social media users, and the general public to exercise caution and verify information regarding accredited universities and academic standards exclusively through the official communication channels of the National Universities Commission.
The government further reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the NUC in safeguarding academic integrity and protecting the global credibility of Nigeria’s university system.
