Copyright bizwatchnigeria
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted approval for the reintroduction of management degree programmes at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State. The development followed a successful Resource Assessment Visit conducted by the NUC to evaluate the university’s readiness to run the proposed programmes. According to a statement issued on Monday by the Acting Head of Public Relations at FUNAAB, Mr. Olasunkanmi Olajide, the approval was conveyed in a letter dated 17 October 2025, signed by Abubakar M. Girei, Acting Director of Academic Planning, on behalf of the NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu. Olajide disclosed that the approved programmes include B.Sc. Accounting, B.Sc. Banking and Finance, B.Sc. Business Administration, and B.Sc. Economics, alongside a newly introduced M.Sc. in Agroecology. He noted that the approval marks a major milestone in the university’s academic expansion, as the programmes were delisted in the 2017/2018 academic session following a Federal Government directive restricting management sciences in specialised agricultural institutions. It would be recalled that in 2018, the then Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, directed agricultural universities to focus strictly on their core mandate, leading to the suspension of management courses previously offered by FUNAAB. However, with the new approval, the university will resume admissions into the reintroduced programmes under the College of Entrepreneurial and Development Studies (COLENDS) for the 2025/2026 academic session. The college, formerly known as the College of Management Sciences (COLMAS), was renamed in 2021 to reflect FUNAAB’s broader vision of promoting entrepreneurship and development-focused education. Reacting to the development, the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of FUNAAB expressed delight, recalling its earlier appeal in 2021 for the reinstatement of the management programmes. The SUG President, Comrade Michael Oloyede, had at the time urged the Federal Government to reconsider its stance, arguing that management science courses complemented agricultural training by integrating business and financial management skills — a practice consistent with global educational standards. The reinstated college comprises five departments — Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, Economics, and Entrepreneurial Studies — all of which previously held full accreditation from the NUC.
