TOP 10 LESS COMPETITIVE UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

You may be surprised to have not heard about some of the Universities mentioned.

There are over 100 universities in Nigeria, some of which were established a long time ago because of the need to provide education in the country, while others were established merely because the constitution has required that all states in Nigeria must have Federal Universities.

Hence, there are a few number applications for studying in these Universities because some of these States are educationally less developed and the citizens there probably do not fancy the education or are not interested in studying at all.

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One of the yardsticks employed by JAMB in approving cut-off marks is the number of students that apply to a particular university compared to the average or maximum capacity of students such university can accept at a time.

For instance, UNILAG may only be able to take 18,000 students across all departments, but an average of 200,000 students apply to study at Unilag yearly. This means that there are way more applicants than the capacity.

Hence, it is necessary to take measures to ensure that only those with the highest scores can get in on merit or catchment.

On the other hand, there are universities at the lower end of the list of competitive Universities.

These universities are looking for students because not many students are looking for them. Their cut-off points are quite low and attractive to make students want to apply but sadly not many are ready to explore those options.

One common factor among most of these schools is that they’re quite new, so they may not possess a variety of influential Alumni to boast of.


Some of these Universities include:

10. Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE)

The Federal University of Oye Ekiti was established in 2011 in Oye, Ekiti State by the Nigerian Universities Commission. It has since then been one of the favorites of both indigenes of Ekiti state and many other states in the southwest region.

The reason why FUOYE is at the top of this list is that of all the other 10 Universities, it is the fastest school actively working towards exiting the list of the less competitive Universities. Despite being quite new, FUOYE has become quite popular and most sought after like other southwestern Federal Universities.

If you’re looking for a school in the South West with a low cut-off and easy admission, it’s FUOYE. It has one of the lowest cut off for a federal university; 160.

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9. Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki (EBSU)

The Ebonyi State University was formally established in 1999 by the first governor of the state (His Excellency Governor Sam Ominyi Egwu). It was formally an annex of the Anambra State University of Science and Technology (ASUTECH) before it was fully upgraded into a fully-fledged university.

Ebonyi State University is another fast-growing University that is still quite easy to get into especially for medical students. The University has gained quite the recognition recently owing to the efforts of Governor David Umahi.

If you’re searching for a less competitive university that doesn’t feel like it, try EBSU.

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8. Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT)

Similar to EBSU, ESUT was also just an annex of the Anambra State University of Science and Technology because both Ebonyi and Enugu State were formally part of Anambra state before they were granted autonomy in their respective years.


ESUT was established in 1991 after the creation of Enugu State. The university was broken out of the first University of Science and Technology in Nigeria (ASUTECH). It is one of the best and easiest universities to study science and technology-related courses in Nigeria.

The university has produced many great talents but is overshadowed by schools like the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the likes around the South East region.

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7. Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effunrun Delta State

In 2007, the Federal Government made a mandate to establish a university that will help produce skilled manpower for the oil and gas sector with worldwide competence. It was resolved that this school should be in the Niger Delta region, so Delta state was picked.

Although this sounds quite important, the university is however not necessarily getting the hype it deserves which puts it on the list of least competitive Universities in Nigeria. There’s a 60% likelihood of getting admitted into this university even with a relatively low Jamb score.

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6. Federal University, Lafia Nassarawa State

5. Federal University, Dutse (FUD)

Established in 2011, The Federal University of Lafia is located in Nassarawa State, close to the Federal Capital of Nigeria. It was established to reduce the excess crowd in schools around that region. With a 180 JAMB cut-off, you can get in. The school is quite less competitive and easy to get into.

FUD is located in Jigawa state. It was established in 2011. FID just got full accreditation to medicine and surgery, accounting, actuarial science, and about 16 other courses in April 2022. FUD is another one of the Federal Universities with low competition for entry. Anyone from anywhere and any religion in Nigeria can apply as the University has a quiet urban setting.

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4. Federal University, Kashere (FUKASHERE) Gombe

FUKASHERE was established by the Federal Government in the year 2011 in Gombe state, to cater to the educational needs of Northern Nigeria. As a result of its location, the University doesn’t receive as many applications from students as other Federal Universities in Nigeria so they are literally in search of students.

With an average JAMB score, you’re sure to have a 70% chance of getting in to study a course of your choice.

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3. Federal University, Otuoke (FUTUOKE) Bayelsa State.

FUTUOKE is also one of the Universities established in 2011. Academic activities in FUTUOKE started in 2012 with 2 faculties and about 11 departments. Now there are about 6 faculties and over 10,000 students.

The management of this university is working earnestly to ensure the growth of this University and one of the ways is by making it attractive to prospective students all over the country.


If you’re searching for a fast-growing school where you can study without much stress, then FUTUOKE is the direction you should be looking.

2. Federal University, Burnin-Kebbi (FUBK)

FUBK is located in Kebbi state and was established in the year 2013. The first academic session (2013/2014) started in November 2014 with a little over 500 students.

The Federal University Birnin-Kebbi (FUBK) is one of the Federal Universities with basically no competition whatsoever, so an application is just like a walk-over.

1. Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA)

FUDMA is located in Katsina state, a state in the Northwestern region of Nigeria. Katsina state borders the Niger Republic and other Northern states like Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna.

FUDMA is also one of the Universities established in 2011 by the Goodluck Ebele Johnathan government. It has a relatively low student population which suggests that not many students apply to go there.


If you hope to explore the Northern part of the country, then you can consider studying there with no stress to get in.

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Most of the Universities listed above are situated in the far Northern area because many students do not want to study there as a result of the security issues and the fact that they are educationally less developed.

This doesn’t mean that security measures are not taken there, I think it’s just a matter of time before more students will begin to look that way because of rejection from their chosen universities.