The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Friday dismissed recent media reports that the list of illegal universities in Nigeria was published because of the new administration in the country.

NUC’s Director of Information, Malam Ibrahim Yakasai who briefed newsmen, said the list of illegal universities had always been published in the commission’s bulletin for the past five years.

According to Yakasai, there are no illegal universities operating in the country at present, adding that the frequent publishing of the list is strategic.

“The list has been in existence for the past three to five years; the report that NUC suddenly woke up because of `change’ is mischievous.

“There is no illegal university in Nigeria now; no illegal university in Nigeria has produced a graduate.

“We have a committee on illegal universities and they work in partnership with law enforcement agencies—the police, ICPC, EFCC, among others.

“We publish the list of illegal universities repeatedly in order to stigmatise them and make sure nobody uses them again; in the last one year, there has been no case of illegal university.”

He said that the commission was prosecuting several operators of illegal universities, while it had so far achieved two convictions because of slow court process.

On the two fake professors that were recently handed over to the police, Yakasai said they had owned up to the offence, and that they were being prosecuted in court. (NAN)