The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has released the comprehensive list of the most preferred Nigerian universities based on the choices made by candidates who took the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), the University of Lagos (Unilag), and the Lagos State University (LASU) emerged as the top three tertiary institutions with the highest number of applicants.
Unilorin secured the first position with a remarkable 73,749 applicants, followed by Unilagin second place with 60,606 applicants, and LASU in third place with 55,964 applicants.
The disclosure was made by JAMB during an ongoing policy meeting chaired by Andrew Adejoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, on Saturday.
The University of Ilorin has consistently maintained its position as the most preferred institution among candidates for over three years.
Unilag, which held the second position in 2020 and 2021, dropped to third place in 2022. However, it has regained its traditional second position in the current admission process.
In a noteworthy development, LASU has entered the list for the first time, securing a spot among the top ten institutions, which it had never achieved before.
Another newcomer in the top ten rankings is the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna State. It has now been ranked as the ninth most preferred institution, with a total of 41,323 applicants.
Here is the full list of universities with the corresponding number of applicants:
University of Ilorin, Kwara State (73,749)
University of Lagos (61,606)
Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State (55,954)
Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State (53,235)
University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State (48,026)
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State (43,660)
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State (41,959)
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State (41,759)
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Kaduna State (41,323)
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State (41,134)
