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 inclusion of two Nigerian universities in the top 1,000 of the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, released on Thursday.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Okebukola revealed that the University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) secured positions within the 35.5–38.9 overall score range, marking a notable improvement from the 2025 rankings, where only Covenant University made the top 1,000.
“The 2026 result reflects progress in the global standing of Nigerian universities,” Okebukola stated. He explained that THE rankings are determined using 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators covering five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook.
According to him, Oxford University retained its position as the world’s leading university for the tenth consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and Stanford University. He noted that Harvard, once a consistent leader, now ranks fifth due to Oxford’s continued strength in research performance.
Okebukola, who also chairs the Governing Board of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), further detailed that Bayero University Kano (BUK), Covenant University, and Landmark University all appeared in the 1,001–1,200 band, with overall scores between 32.1 and 35.4.
“In 2025, four Nigerian universities were ranked within this band, so the 2026 performance shows a slight dip,” he observed. Institutions placed within the 1,201–1,500 band include Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT Minna), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), University of Jos (UNIJOS), and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), while 14 others appeared in the 1500+ category.
The 2026 rankings position the University of Ibadan as Nigeria’s best university, ahead of UNILAG, BUK, and Covenant University, respectively. UI, which had previously held the top spot in 2023, moved up from fourth place in 2025 to reclaim national leadership.
The new rankings covered 2,191 institutions across 115 countries, drawing from 18.7 million research publications, 174.9 million citations, and survey responses from over 108,000 scholars worldwide.
Notably, UNILAG scored highest among Nigerian universities in research quality, earning a score of 66.7.
Okebukola also highlighted the performance of Nigerian universities in other THE ranking schemes, including the Impact Rankings, where Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) continues to perform strongly, as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings and subject-based classifications.
He expressed optimism that with sustained investment and commitment to quality education, more Nigerian universities will soon join the world’s leading institutions.
