The Federal Government on Monday inaugurated the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Committee to set in motion a new annual award programme.
The award will reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s and doctoral research with prizes valued at ₦365 million.
This is part of the government’s efforts to reposition scholarship, innovation and research as national priorities.
The Committee was inaugurated by Minister of Education Tunji Alausa at the Digital Resource Centre of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
The Committee will oversee the implementation of the National Laureate Programme designed to elevate academic excellence to the highest level of national recognition.
It will also promote research commercialisation and innovation across Nigeria’s accredited post-secondary and tertiary institutions.
Speaking at the inauguration, Alausa said the programme represented a deliberate effort by the Federal Government to reshape the country’s reward system.
According to him, it will place scholarly achievement, scientific discovery and innovation alongside other nationally celebrated accomplishments.
The Minister said the initiative would inspire a new generation of young Nigerians to pursue research capable of solving real-world problems, creating new industries and strengthening the nation’s global competitiveness.
“The future prosperity of nations will increasingly depend on their ability to convert knowledge into economic value,” the Minister said.
He noted that Nigeria must deliberately celebrate intellectual achievement if it hopes to build a globally competitive knowledge economy.
Alausa observed that in an era increasingly dominated by the social media-driven “attention economy”, the Federal Government considered it necessary to establish a national platform.
He said that the platform would reward creativity, scholarship, invention and commercially valuable research, particularly among young people.
The newly inaugurated Committee comprises Prof. Abubakar Sambo, President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, as Chairman; Prof. Solomon Nwhator of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and Prof. Tolulope Ariyomo of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
Others are Prof. Francis Uba of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo; Dr Babangida Albaba, representing the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE); Dr Salihu Girei, representing TETFund; and Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi of Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
Also, Dr Obianuju Anigbogu, representing the Federal Ministry of Education; Mr Francis Egbokare, representing the Nigerian Academy of Letters; Dr Ezinne Orisakwe, representing the National Universities Commission (NUC); and Dr Pius Ekireghwo, representing the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) are members.
Mr Richard Falaye, Secretary of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), will serve as Secretary to the Committee.
The inaugural National Laureate Awards are scheduled for November 2026.
The awards will recognise the country’s finest Undergraduate Dissertations, Master’s Theses and Doctoral (PhD) Theses, alongside six thematic Excellence Awards.
The thematic categories cover Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Law, Arts and Social Sciences, and Teaching Innovation.
Under the approved prize structure, the winner of the Undergraduate Dissertation category will receive ₦35 million, while the best Master’s Thesis will attract ₦50 million.
The overall winner in the Doctoral (PhD) category will receive ₦100 million.
In addition, six National Laureate Excellence Awards, each valued at ₦30 million, will be presented annually.
This brings the programme’s total prize pool to approximately ₦365 million.
The Minister also announced the establishment of the Dr Stella Adadevoh Excellence Award in Medicine and Medical Innovation.
The award, one of the programme’s special awards, honours the late physician whose leadership during the 2014 Ebola outbreak helped prevent a national public health crisis.
He directed the committee to conclude its work on eligibility requirements, evaluation procedures and institutional engagement in good time for the successful hosting of the inaugural Awards in November.
Alausa also ccommended Olatunji Ariyomo, Chairman of NERD, for his innovative contributions towards transformative interventions within Nigeria’s education sector.
Responding on behalf of the Committee, Sambo described the initiative as a historic turning point in the nation’s education policy.
He praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for placing academic excellence and research at the centre of national development.
Sambo pledged that the committee would uphold the highest standards of transparency, fairness and merit throughout the selection process.
He commended Alausa for leading a national revolution to reward and promote innovation and its commercialisation.
He assured the Minister that every eligible student, irrespective of institution or geographical location, would have an equal opportunity to attain National Laureate status.
The process, he said, would be insulated from institutional favouritism and other extraneous considerations.
The programme is expected to deepen collaboration between universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, industry and government.
It will also create stronger incentives for commercially viable research and position Nigeria to compete more effectively within the global knowledge economy.(NAN)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz