Senate has passed the second reading of a bill seeking to amend the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Act to remove “Technology” from the institution’s name and convert it into a conventional university.

Titled Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (Amendment) Bill 2025 (SB 910), the amendment bill, aims to broaden the university’s mandate beyond science and technology, allowing it to introduce courses in law, social sciences, and other non-technical disciplines.

This development was captured in a NASS TV clip of Tuesday’s plenary session.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Shehu Buba (Bauchi South), passed second reading and was referred to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund for further legislative work.

The committee is expected to report back within four weeks.

Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the sponsor and acknowledged the support of fellow lawmakers, noting that the Senate had previously approved similar transitions for other specialised institutions.

“Let me thank Distinguished Senator Shehu Buba for bringing this to the fore, and I also thank all Distinguished Senators who have made their contributions. It is not just contributing; I know that this hallowed chamber also changed the name of the former Rivers State University of Science and Technology to Rivers State University, thereby making it a conventional university after it was taken over by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“So I hope that after the public hearing, everybody will be in one accord so that we can proceed from there. I thank you all for your contributions,” he said.

Akpabio’s remarks highlighted the Senate’s consistent effort to modernise specialised universities and expand their academic scope to meet national needs.

If passed into law, the amendment will formally rename Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and empower it to operate as a non-specialised institution offering a broader range of academic programmes.

Founded in 1981, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University is a federal university of technology located in Bauchi, in the north-eastern part of Nigeria.

The university is named after Nigeria’s first and only prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

The motto of the university is “Doctrina Mater Artium”, which means “Education is the mother of the practical arts.”