Federal Government Approves Over N5.1 Billion Research Grants

In continuation of efforts aimed at boosting Research and Development for economic and technological development in Nigeria, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration has approved the sum of N5,128,180,623.63 for the funding of 185 successful research proposals under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund (NRF) 2023 Grant Cycle.

The approval was conveyed by the Honourable Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman following the report of the TETFund National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC) which recommended the funding of the 185 research proposals after a rigorous screening exercise which commenced in March 2023 with the receipt of 4,287 Concept Notes from prospective applicants.

A breakdown of the approval indicated that the sum of N3,784,635,923.00 was approved for the Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) thematic group; N759,875,400.00 for Humanities and Social Science (HSS) while Cross Cutting (CC) received N583,669,300.63 with individual grants ranging between N8 million and over N46 million.

Some of the approved research works according to their thematic groups include:

Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI)

• Application of the Hydro-Biogeochemical Framework to Develop a National Rural Water Quality Assurance Plan for Sustainable Water Quality Management in Nigeria
• Development and Use of Doubled Haploid Maize Lines for Improved Maize Yield and Tolerance to Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda)
• Development of an Intelligent Multichamber Evaporative Cooling Preservative System for Post-Harvest Storage of Selected Fruits in Nigeria
• Development of Electric Vehicle with Special Tracking Features, etc.

 Cross Cutting

• Development of a Cocktail of Novel Thermostable Recombinant Lignin Degrading Enzymes from Lignolytic Bacteria Genome for Biofuel Production from Sugarcane Bagasse
• Utilization of Scrap Tires and Plastic Wastes as aggregate Conductive Material for Renewable Energy Storage System
• Development of Appropriate Technology for Production of Aluminum Alloy Sacrificial Anodes for Applications in Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry
• Development of an Economical Low Voltage Programmable Electroporator and Investigation of Pulse Electric Field for Wound Healing and Cancer Treatment; etc.

Humanities and Social Science

• Digital Financial Inclusion, Rural Households’ Consumption Structure and Well-being in Nigeria
• Equity and Inclusion: Creating Access to Library Resources for Students Living with Vision Impairment in e-Learning Environment in Nigerian Universities
• Mitigating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Frontline Nigerian Army Personnel using Stress Inoculation Therapy; and others.

The National Research Fund (NRF) Grant was introduced by TETFund to encourage cutting-edge research which explore research areas relevant to societal needs of Nigeria such as power and energy, health, security, agriculture, employment and wealth creation etc., in line with its mandate.

The intervention received additional impetus under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration as a veritable tool to grow the economy and improve the standards of living of the Nigerian people.

By Amos Anetekhai