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Elizade University, the private university founded by Nigerian auto tycoon Michael Ade Ojo, has secured approval to begin a degree programme in medicine and surgery, the founder said, as its nursing school reported a perfect pass rate in national professional examinations.
Ade Ojo, the founder of car distributor Elizade Nigeria and the majority owner of Toyota Nigeria, told a ceremony at the university that it had "secured approval to commence its MBBS programme" after the National Universities Commission carried out a resource verification exercise for a proposed College of Medicine, according to Nigerian news site Roving Reporters. The commission regulates university programmes in Nigeria. The course is due to start in the 2026/2027 academic session.
The university, in Ilara-Mokin in southwestern Ondo State, has opened admissions for the six-year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree, known as MBBS, to candidates who scored at least 240 in this year's national university entrance examination, according to education news site MySchoolGist. It has not disclosed how many students it will admit.
Medical schools in Nigeria also need clearance from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, which sets standards for medical training and licenses doctors. In September, Vice-Chancellor Philip Oguntunde said the university was waiting for the outcome of the commission's verification visit and planned to invite the council for an advisory visit. The university has not said publicly whether that visit has taken place.
Nurses post full pass rate
The announcement came at a ceremony where the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria inducted 78 of the university's nursing graduates into the profession, the start of a mandatory one-year internship. The group, the third to graduate from the programme, recorded a 100% pass rate in the professional nursing and midwifery examinations, and eight of them earned first-class degrees, Roving Reporters said.
"We do not want to merely produce nurses; we want to produce professionals," Ade Ojo said, according to Roving Reporters. He told the graduates to "uphold the values upon which Elizade University was founded," according to The Guardian of Nigeria.
Ndagi Alhassan, the registrar of the nursing council, described the graduates as "the future leaders of Nigerian healthcare," The Guardian reported.
From car dealer to university founder
Ade Ojo, who turned 88 in June, started Elizade Independent Agencies in 1971 and built it into one of Nigeria's largest vehicle distribution groups. He holds a 74% stake in Toyota Nigeria, which imports and sells Toyota vehicles in the country, according to the university. His other businesses include RT Briscoe Nigeria, Elizade Autoland and Okin Travels. His son Olakunle Ade-Ojo is managing director of Toyota Nigeria.
He obtained a licence for the university in February 2012, and it admitted its first students in January 2013. It now offers 35 accredited programmes.
Ade Ojo has largely funded the university himself. When he inaugurated a new governing council in September, he said "the time has come for the University to strive for self-reliance" and asked council members to lead a drive to raise an endowment. He pledged to keep funding the university in the meantime.
The council is chaired by Ademola Adebise, a former group managing director of Lagos-based lender Wema Bank.
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