Six varsities bag $9m NCDMB, NLNG research grants  

No fewer than six Nigerian universities have signed a $9 million professorial chair endowment programme with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) to strengthen local research capacity,advance technological innovation and develop commercially viable solutions to industry challenges.
 
The schools include the University of Ibadan, Oyo State; Rivers State University; Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa State; Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Kano State; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Enugu State; and University of Abuja (Yakubu Gowon University), Abuja, FCT.
 
Under the Nigerian Content Research and Development (NC-R&D) Professorial Chair Endowment Programme, each university is to receive $1.5 million to establish a specialised professorial chair focused on agreed industry research priorities. The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the NCDMB, under the supervision of its Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate.
 
Speaking at the opening ceremony, NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, said the programme was an investment in Nigeria’s capacity to translate academic knowledge into practical solutions.
 
His keynote address, titled ‘Reshaping Nigeria’s Future Through Innovation, Research and Capacity Development’, emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration between government, industry and academia.
 
He noted that the programme would support research into challenges central to the energy industry’s future, including improving operational efficiency, managing emissions, strengthening safety, maintaining critical infrastructure and making industrial processes more sustainable.