On 1st July, 1971, the Institute was accorded formal recognition as a full-fledged University by the National Universities Commission. In his budget speech in April 1972, the Military Governor of Bendel State, Col. S.O. Ogbemudia, then also Visitor to the University, formally announced the change of name of the Institute of Technology to the University of Benin. This was necessary in view of growing misconception as to the exact status of the Institute and the difficulty of explaining that the Institute was a full-fledged university,

On 1st April, 1975 the University, at the request of the State Government, was taken over by the Federal Government and became a Federal University.