The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Lagos State University (LASU), and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) are the first three institutions with the highest numbers of being picked as first-choice universities in Nigeria.

Specifically, it said the universities were the most sought-after institutions for the 2024/2025 academic session.

This was recorded in the 2024 policy document made available to The Guardian and signed by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.

The document revealed that the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) led the list for the fifth consecutive year with 64,143 applicants, followed closely by LASU (62,601) and UNILAG (59,105).

It was observed that out of the top 10 universities picked as first choice by students for the 2024/2025 admission, nine were federal institutions while Lagos State University is the only state-owned institution on the list.

The Guardian reports that the Registrar unveiled the document to stakeholders at the 2024 JAMB Policy meeting, declared open by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, in Abuja on Thursday.

The top 10 most subscribed institutions include:

1. University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) – 64,143 applicants (3.22%)
2. Lagos State University (LASU) – 62,601 applicants (3.14%)
3. University of Lagos (UNILAG) – 59,105 applicants (2.97%)
4. Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) – 55,481 applicants (2.78%)
5. Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) – 54,495 applicants (2.73%)
6. University of Ibadan (UI) – 50,598 applicants (2.54%)
7. University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) – 48,544 applicants (2.44%)
8. University of Benin (UNIBEN) – 47,811 applicants (2.40%)
9. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) – 44,155 applicants (2.22%)
10. University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) – 40,176 applicants (2.02%).