How 10 Nigerian varsities won N13.9bn ACE research grant

The universities won the ACE project’s N13.9bn (70 million dollars) grant. Each of the universities will get a minimum of N1.4bn (7 million dollars) and maximum of N1.6bn (8m dollars) for research in the fields of agriculture, health, as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).The ACE project was instituted in 2013 and launched […]

The universities won the ACE project’s N13.9bn (70 million dollars) grant. Each of the universities will get a minimum of N1.4bn (7 million dollars) and maximum of N1.6bn (8m dollars) for research in the fields of agriculture, health, as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The ACE project was instituted in 2013 and launched in 2014 by the governments of Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Republic of Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Togo and Senegal to promote regional specialisation amongst universities in the participating countries to address common regional development challenges.
Fifty-two proposals were submitted by higher education institutions from the participating countries in the West and Central African sub-regions for the contest. Nineteen proposals were selected and 10 Nigerian universities emerged winners.
The varsities are Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta as Centre for Agricultural Development and Sustainable Environment; Bayero University, Kano as Centre for Dryland Agriculture and Benue State University as Centre for Food Technology and Research.
Others include Redeemer’s University as Centre for Genomics of Infectious Diseases; University of Jos as Centre for Phytomedicine Research and Development; and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology.
University of Benin is a centre for Reproductive Health and Innovation; African University of Science and Technology, Centre for Materials; University of Port Harcourt, Centre for Oil Field Chemicals and Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) as Centre for Science, Technology and Knowledge.
The project is expected to take full charge on May 15, if the documentation is completed, Daily Trust gathered.  
Speaking at the signing of the performance contract of the project at the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, warned the managements of the benefiting institutions to utilise the funds allocated to them judiciously in order to achieve objectives of the project.
Shekarau said the federal government will not hesitate to reallocate funds from non-performing centres to those that do well.
The minister also cautioned the beneficiaries against undue interference and frequent changes in terms as, according to him, that would impact negatively on the project.
“I urge you to be focussed and innovative because the challenges facing us nationally and regionally are enormous, and you are looked upon to provide solutions.
“You have been entrusted with the responsibility of meeting the demand for skills required for development of our nation and sub-region, and also to strengthen our capacity to deliver high quality training and applied research,” he said.
Malam Shekarau also appealed to the benefiting universities to justify the huge resources the government invested in the project through high level of commitment to their responsibilities.
He said the NUC will continue to work with the World Bank to ensure the release of the 10 per cent of the approved funds to enable the beneficiaries commence work on the project.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Julius A. Okojie, said. “The ACE project has the capacity to transform the economic landscape of the sub-region”, and that “we can achieve that only if we can look inwards and come up with innovations that can address our common problems.”
Prof. Okojie therefore charged the vice chancellors of the benefiting institutions to allow the centres to carry out their tasks diligently in order to make useful contributions to the nation.
He explained that although it will take time before the impact can manifest, however, the grant will help Nigeria solve a number of regional problems in years to come.   
He said with the development, the beneficiaries have no excuse about research funding, noting that. “Nigeria still has viable education system that can take the country to a promising land.”
The Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, who spoke on behalf of the federal universities, expressed delight, saying. “This is the first time such huge amount of money is invested in the research component of the university system in Nigeria.”
He therefore appealed to the management of the benefiting institutions to make good use of the grant. “We shall certainly execute the project according to the agreement we have entered with the World Bank,” he said.
Commenting on the development, the chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja chapter, Dr. Ben Ugheoke, said since all the beneficiaries have already stated their specifications, they should spend the money for those purposes.
“There are no two ways about that; the beneficiaries must spend the money according to the specifications of the agreement they entered with the sponsors otherwise they will never access fund from World Bank again,” he said.
He said the grant will make positive impact on the immediate host communities of benefiting universities and the nation as well. “I hope more Nigerian universities will compete for this fund that is available at the World Bank’s coffers in the subsequent years,” he said.