The Senate has passed a bill seeking to provide a statutory framework for the management and administration of Yusuf Maitama Sule Federal University of Education, Kano, Kano State.
The bill, sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), was passed during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The legislation is intended to provide the legal backing necessary for the institution to operate effectively and fulfil its mandate of advancing teacher education in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu approved the conversion of the Federal Colleges of Education in Kano and Zaria into federal universities of education in September 2024.
Following a request by Barau on behalf of the people of Kano State, Tinubu also approved the renaming of the Kano institution as Yusuf Maitama Sule Federal University of Education on May 10, 2025.
Barau subsequently sponsored the bill to establish the statutory framework for the university. The proposal passed through the legislative process before receiving the Senate’s approval at the second and third reading stages. It had earlier passed first reading on Wednesday, March 25, 2025.
Leading the debate on the bill, Barau said the legislation was necessary to give legal backing to the institution and ensure its effective administration.
He commended Tinubu for approving the university’s conversion and renaming, noting that the proposed law would promote teacher education and provide comprehensive provisions for the institution’s management and development.
“Mr Senate President, this institution has already been established by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Barau said.
He recalled his earlier efforts in the previous Senate to upgrade the Federal College of Education, Zaria, as well as Alvan Ikoku College of Education and Adeyemi College of Education, into full-fledged universities.
According to him, the bills were passed and transmitted to the late President Muhammadu Buhari but were not assented to.
Barau said he approached Tinubu after he assumed office and conveyed the request of his constituents for the Federal College of Education, Kano, to be upgraded to a university.
He said the President approved the request and subsequently agreed to name the institution after the late Yusuf Maitama Sule following another appeal from the people of Kano.
“Today, the institution is a full-fledged university offering degrees in various fields of education,” he said.
Barau expressed appreciation to Tinubu for approving the university’s establishment and other educational institutions in Kano State, including the Federal University of Science and Technology in Kabo and the Federal Polytechnic in Rano.
In his remarks, Akpabio commended Barau for sponsoring the bill and thanked senators for supporting its passage.
He expressed optimism that Tinubu would assent to the legislation when it was transmitted to him, providing the university with the necessary statutory and regulatory framework to carry out its responsibilities and contribute to national development.
