Jelili Gbadamosi
The Federal Government has announced a N10 billion allocation to Nigeria’s National Research Fund for 2026, as part of measures to strengthen research and innovation in the nation’s universities.
President Bola Tinubu made the disclosure on Saturday at the maiden convocation ceremony of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare (FUHSA), in Bauchi State.
Tinubu, who is the Visitor to the university, was represented at the ceremony by the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sunny Echono.
The President urged universities, particularly institutions specialising in health sciences, to take advantage of the research fund to develop solutions to Nigeria’s healthcare challenges.
He said the Federal Government was also reforming the university system by granting institutions greater freedom to recruit personnel according to their manpower needs.
According to him, universities would no longer be required to obtain recruitment waivers from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation before employing staff.
Tinubu also disclosed that steps were being taken to remove universities from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and establish a payroll system that would take into account the peculiarities of the university system.
He said the reforms were aimed at helping universities attract and retain qualified academic and non-academic personnel while improving teaching, research and innovation.
The President further revealed that 1,798 students of FUHSA benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) during the 2025/2026 academic session.
He said the beneficiaries represented 43 per cent of the university’s student population, stressing that the initiative was designed to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent qualified Nigerians from accessing higher education.
Tinubu congratulated the university’s 50 pioneer graduates, describing their graduation as an important milestone for an institution established to address manpower gaps in Nigeria’s health sector following lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, FUHSA Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bala Mohammed Audu, said the university had established 22 academic programmes in less than five years.
Audu said 11 of the 13 programmes that had reached accreditation stage received full accreditation, while two secured interim accreditation.
He disclosed that the pioneer graduating class, made up of students from the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, produced three first-class graduates.
According to him, the students also developed more than 34 value-added nutritional products during their training, some of which have commercialisation potential.
The Vice-Chancellor appealed to relevant authorities to reconsider the extension of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme from four to five years under the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards, arguing that the existing four-year structure had adequately equipped graduates with the necessary skills.
