'No new universities for 7 years': Senate blocks bills after Tinubu's directive

Nigeria's Senate has suspended bills to establish new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, in line with a government policy imposing a five-to-seven-year moratorium. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said in Abuja on Wednesday that the National Assembly clerk and relevant committees had been told to stop work on the bills. Senate President Godswill Akpabio said Bola Tinubu opposed creating new institutions for now so existing ones could develop their infrastructure, noting that some recently established universities still lack permanent sites. More than 200 bills could be stalled or abandoned, and the Senate adjourned until November 10.