The Chairman of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Emeritus Peter Okebukola, has commended the performance of Nigerian universities in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, particularly the University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) for making the list of the world’s top 1,000 universities.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Okebukola described the development as an improvement over the 2025 ranking, where only Covenant University made the top 1,000.
According to him, both UI and UNILAG scored within the 35.5–38.9 range, reflecting progress in teaching, research, and international outlook.
> “This is an improvement over the 2025 league tables where only Covenant University was ranked among the top 1000 and the best in Nigeria,” he said.
Okebukola explained that the Times Higher Education ranking evaluates universities using 18 performance indicators covering teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international reputation.
He added that other ranking categories by THE include the Impact Rankings, in which Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, has consistently excelled, and the Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings as well as subject-based rankings.
Giving further details, Okebukola said:
> “Oxford University led the pack, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and Stanford University. Interestingly, Harvard, which had maintained the lead in the early years, slipped to fifth place, while Oxford retained the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year.”
Beyond UI and UNILAG, the professor noted that Bayero University Kano, Covenant University, and Landmark University were placed in the top 1,200 band, scoring between 32.1 and 35.4.
However, he observed a slight decline in the number of Nigerian universities ranked in the 1,200 category — from four in 2025 to three in 2026. Universities ranked between 1,201 and 1,500 include Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology, Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, while 14 other institutions were placed in the 1,500+ category.
According to THE’s website, the University of Ibadan reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s best university, ranking between 801 and 1,000 globally, a spot it last held in 2023. It surpassed Covenant University, which had led the national ranking in 2024 and 2025.
UNILAG followed closely in second place, ahead of Bayero University Kano and Covenant University. The 2026 list, which surveyed 2,191 institutions from 115 countries, analysed over 18.7 million research publications, 174.9 million citations, and responses from 108,000 scholars worldwide.
The rankings also highlighted institutional strengths — with UNILAG emerging as Nigeria’s top performer in research quality, scoring 66.7.
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