Ambrose Alli University : AAU

Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, began as Bendel State University in 1981 during a period of rapid educational development in Bendel State. Governor Professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli constituted a committee on 15 January 1981 to examine the establishment, structure and academic role of a state university and related institutions. The committee's work led to a bill for the university and the institution was formally developed to widen access to higher education and support the state's education policies. The official opening and foundation-stone ceremony took place on 29 March 1982. After the creation of Edo State in 1992, the university became Edo State University. In 1999, an Act of the Edo State House of Assembly, signed by Governor Lucky Igbinedion, renamed it Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, in honour of its founder. That name records both the university's state origins and Professor Alli's contribution to education and public service. From its early focus on building a state university, AAU has grown into a broad institution with programmes in the sciences, arts, education, social sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture and other fields. Its history is therefore closely connected with the expansion of public higher education in Edo State and the continuing effort to combine teaching, research and service.