The outgoing Executive Secretary (ES) of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, Friday said it will not be wrong if the numbers of Nigerian universities climb to 500 in the next two years.

He said such increment would be in order as long as the overall enrolment can be doubled from 2.3 million to 4.5 million or 5 million students in the university system.

Professor Rasheed said this during the official handing over to his deputy, Chris Maiyaki in Abuja.

The low-key event had a former ES of the commission, Prof Julius Okojie, members of the directors of the commission and other special guests including former vice chancellors of universities in attendance.

Maiyaki is to oversee the affairs of the commission pending the appointment of a substantive ES.

Professor Rasheed said he is to resume his lecturing work in Bayero University Kano today, July 1 where he has approval to do so.

He said those who are against the creation of more universities in the country were either ignorant or do not have more children to train in the universities, saying, considering the country’s population of 220 million people.

He said only 2.3 million enrolment is currently recorded in the entire university system, which he said is 1 per cent of the country’s population.

Rasheed said the 147 private universities in Nigeria do not have the enrollment of the five first generation universities.

He insisted that the only way to encourage the knowledge economy to fight poverty is to establish universities in different places.

In his acceptance speech, Maiyaki said Rasheed’s role and contribution will endear him into the heart of the university system as he has always demonstrated a means to secure a positive change.