Yaba College of Technology, (...first and is still the best) started as Yaba Technical Institute, which took over all the activities of Yaba Higher College following the recommendation of the Elliot Commission on higher education in West Africa. The Yaba Higher College was closed down, and the students were moved to form the nucleus of the University College, Ibadan in 1948. The nation’s first Technical Institute, Yaba Technical Institute started day and evening classes in October 1947. On September 23, 1963, Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the then Governor-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, renamed the Yaba Technical Institute as Yaba College of Technology on the occasion of the official opening of the Engineering Block donated by Shell-British Petroleum.

The change in name was in anticipation of the leading dynamic role the College was to play in the production of technical manpower for the economic and social development of Nigeria. In the words of Dr. Azikiwe, “Yaba College of Technology is at the forefront of the overall programme for streamlining our technical education to meet the needs of Nigeria”. This change of name became a catalyst that threw up the need for autonomy for the College. The name changed again to Federal Polytechnic Yaba in 1979, but reversed to Yaba College of Technology, in 1980.
As the College sprang to life, an Advisory Board was constituted in 1964 by the Minister of Education to pilot its affairs through the challenging path to its stardom. The quest for autonomy for the College finally came to fruition in 1969 with the promulgation of Degree 23 of 1969, “Yaba College of Technology Decree 1969”. which granted it the mandate to provide full-time and part-time courses of instruction and training in Technology, Applied Science, Commerce and Management, Agricultural Production and Distribution; and for Research. This decree represented another major step towards the development of the College. It is significant
to note that Yaba College of Technology was the only College offering Higher Diploma courses in Nigeria till 1979 when the Federal Polytechnics act 1979 was promulgated.

Yaba College of Technology is the first higher institution in Nigeria to establish a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, with linkages with the world of commerce and industry. The centre offers compulsory courses which must be taken by all students throughout their stay in the College. There is a Quality Assurance Unit in the College which monitors the quality of academic service delivery. The Applied Research and Technology Innovation (ARTI) Unit was established to promote research and linkages with private sector organizations for the exploitation and use of research. It also promotes linkages between students of Yabatech and
students of other institutions especially in the area of innovation. Yaba College of Technology is apparently growing vertical in infrastructural development, as it currently boasts of seven storey building and similar tall structures. Nonetheless, monumental structures that were built over 50 years ago still serve as our proud historical heritage: The Students Affairs Building, Orology building and a host of others serve as link between the present day development and our ancestral beginning.

Free medical services are provided at the Medical Centre, which opens every day. Sports facilities are provided at the Sport Complex which is located at the centre of the campus. The College has won the competitions of the Nigeria Polytechnic Games Association (NIPGA) five times out of its sixteen editions. The College has a second campus at Epe. This campus is home to Michael Otedola Information and Communication Centre, School of Technical Education, and the Departments of Agricultural Technology, Agric & Bio Engineering, and Leisure & Tourism. The College is currently headed by Dr. (Engr.) Ibraheem Adedotun Abdul, an astute, focused, unassuming and highly innovative Rector. He assumed duty on May 16, 2023. Historically, this over 70- year- old Institution has been headed by a number of Indigenous Principal and Rectors:

Dr. E.A Akinleye - Principal (1970-1975)
Mr. G.M Okufi - Rector (1975-1985)
Dr. Philip Adegbile - Rector (1985-1993)
Mrs. F.A Odugbesan - Rector (1993-2001)
Mr. Olubunmi Owoso - Rector (2001-2009)
Dr. (Mrs) M.K Ladipo - Rector (2009-2017)
Engr. O.O Omokungbe - Rector (2018 -2023)
Dr. (Engr.) Ibraheem Adedotun Abdul - Incumbent Rector

Yaba College of Technology has eight schools and thirty-four academic departments with a total of seventy accredited programmes, across ND, HND and Post-HND levels. The College also offers online and certificate courses. Yaba College of Technology offers B.Sc. (Ed) courses in Technical & Vocational Education, Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering, and Urban & Regional Planning, Online Programmes and Top-Up Programme in certain courses. The programmes are run in conjunction with the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Federal University of Technology, Akure, and Federal University of Oye-Ekiti. The student population which is made up of both full-time and part-time students is in the range of 15,000, while the staff strength is 2063.

In April 2015, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) approved five new courses for Yaba College of Technology. The courses are Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication, Banking and Finance, Metallurgy Engineering, National Diploma (ND) in Welding & Fabrication and Public Administration. In June 2019, Yaba College of Technology partnered with a leading Nigerian security solutions company to design and implement a Security Management Certification Programme. The College in recent times has established linkages with several institutions across Europe and Asia, with many of our students and staff
enjoying exchange programmes.

The College has a functioning Radio station YCT RADIO 89.3FM. The Radio station was established in 2016, to serve as a training ground for Mass Communication students and future broadcasters. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has also granted the College the license for the establishment and operation of a Television station (DBS), which is about coming on air. Yaba College of Technology is at par, and competes highly favourably with universities of high repute in the world, and is a trail blazer. For several years, it has been at the fore-front in the global ranking. In fact, YABATECH leads while others follow. It is the first, and it remains the best.