
Nigeria's first Technical Institute, Yaba Technical Institute, was founded in 1947, running programmes of both Day and Evening courses. Shortly after Nigerian independence, the Institute was renamed 'Yaba College of Technology' in 1963 - coinciding with the opening of new Engineering block, funded by Shell-British Petroleum. It gained autonomous status and, until the Federal Polytechnics Act of 1979, remained the only college in Nigeria to offer Higher Diploma courses.