Nigeria’s leading university, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has set an ambitious target of becoming one of the world’s top 50 universities after emerging as the highest-ranked institution in Nigeria for the fifth consecutive year in the 2026 Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings.
The university, which retained its position as Nigeria’s number one university in sustainability impact from 2022 to 2026, also climbed to second position in Africa and 72nd globally among 1,646 universities across 116 countries assessed in the latest rankings released on June 24, 2026.
The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor Smaranda Olarinde, announced the achievement during a press conference held at the senate chamber of the university on Tuesday, describing the feat as another major milestone in ABUAD’s steady rise on the global academic stage.
According to her, the university’s latest ranking represents a significant improvement from its 84th global position in 2025, marking a leap of 12 places within one year and reaffirming its growing influence in research, innovation, sustainability, and global partnerships.
She disclosed that the university recorded an impressive overall score of 90.8 per cent in the Sustainable Development Goals performance index, further strengthening its reputation as one of Africa’s fastest-rising institutions of higher learning.
Olarinde said the university’s founder and chancellor, renowned legal icon and education philanthropist, Aare Afe Babalola, had challenged the institution to move beyond its recent achievements and pursue a place among the world’s top 50 universities.
She recalled that the elder statesman had long nurtured the dream of seeing ABUAD ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, a vision that materialised in 2025 when the institution entered the global top 100.
“Following the announcement of this year’s rankings, our revered founder expressed profound gratitude to God and to every member of the ABUAD community whose dedication made this achievement possible. He then challenged us once again with an even higher aspiration—that ABUAD should continue its upward trajectory and secure a place among the world’s top 50 universities.
“That vision has now become our renewed resolve and, judging by the remarkable progress we have recorded over the years, I have every confidence that ABUAD will attain that milestone in the not-too-distant future,” she said.
Tracing the institution’s impressive journey in the rankings, the Vice-Chancellor noted that ABUAD debuted in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings in 2022 when it emerged as Nigeria’s number one university and was placed in the 301-400 global band.
According to her, ” The university improved to the 201-300 band in 2023 while maintaining its national leadership position, before climbing to fourth in Africa and 142nd globally in 2024 among 2,152 universities worldwide.
“By 2025, the institution had risen to third in Africa and 84th globally out of 2,318 participating universities before advancing further to its current 72nd global ranking and second position on the continent.”
Olarinde attributed the university’s success to visionary leadership, strategic planning, institutional discipline and sustained investment in infrastructure, research and human capital development.
She highlighted the university’s over 70 local and international partnerships, full accreditation of all academic programmes, state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities, mandatory professional certifications for students and foreign language training programmes as some of the major drivers of its global recognition.
The VC also pointed to the university’s stable academic calendar, uninterrupted electricity supply through its Independent Power Plant and solar systems, a functional planetarium, extensive scholarship programmes and robust staff welfare policies as part of the institution’s competitive advantages.
She revealed that ABUAD currently hosts over 10,000 students in a fully residential environment and attracts learners from all 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory and several foreign countries.
While celebrating the latest recognition, Olarinde said the university remained conscious of the greater responsibilities that come with global visibility and pledged that the institution would continue to deepen its commitment to quality education, cutting-edge research, sustainable development and transformational leadership.
“Our journey towards global excellence continues. This recognition only challenges us to do more and reach higher heights in our pursuit of academic distinction and societal impact,” she stated.