The Minister of Education and Scientific Research of the Niger Republic, Professor Mamadou Saidou, has directed the transmission of a comprehensive list of fully accredited private universities and other higher institutions in the country to the Nigeria–Niger Joint Commission, NNJC.
The list, which also specifies the language of instruction of each institution, was compiled and validated by the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Research—the country’s sole regulatory authority responsible for accreditation, evaluation, and quality assurance in tertiary education.
Authorities stressed that the document represents the only official and authentic record of recognised higher institutions in the Niger Republic, warning that any list outside the verified submission should be considered inaccurate and unauthorised.
At a formal meeting in his office, the minister handed over the document to Ambassador Musa S. Mamman, Secretary-General of the Nigeria–Niger Joint Commission, for onward transmission to relevant Nigerian authorities.
The move is aimed at strengthening cross-border academic verification and ensuring that only duly accredited institutions are recognised, particularly in the validation of academic certificates for official purposes.
The agency’s exclusive mandate is further backed by the Declaration of Addis Ababa, which recognises Niger’s quality assurance body as the only institution authorised to validate academic certificates within and outside the country.
In a letter addressed to Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, the Commission urged that the list be circulated to key ministries, departments, and agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission, NUC, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Council of Legal Education, and the Medical Council of Nigeria.
The Commission noted that the step would enhance proper documentation and prevent the recognition of unaccredited institutions within Nigeria’s education and professional systems.
The development effectively positions the NNJC-endorsed list as the definitive reference point for all stakeholders in Nigeria, indicating that any institution not captured in the document should not be regarded as accredited under any official framework.
Established in 1971, the Nigeria–Niger Joint Commission serves as a bilateral platform to deepen cooperation between Nigeria and the Niger Republic. Headquartered in Niamey, the Commission focuses on areas such as security, trade, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and education, where it plays a key role in fostering academic collaboration and institutional verification.
