FG Releases N4.2 Billion To Universities As Research Grants

By Ayodele Oni

The Federal Government has met one of the demands, of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) which has caused incessant strikes with the approval of a grant of N4.2 billion to support 158 research projects at universities.

President Bola Tinubu approved the

grant of N4,249,626,817.69 to support 158 research projects as part of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund’s 2024 Grant Cycle.

The endorsement came after the TETFund National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC) reviewed and recommended funding for 158 research proposals.

This decision followed a thorough screening process that began with the submission of 6,944 Concept Notes from numerous researchers.

This was revealed in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, by Abdulmumin Oniyangi, the Director of Public Affairs at TETFund.

The approval details show that N2,349,951,630.43 was allocated to the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation (SETI) thematic group.

Meanwhile, the Humanities and Social Science (HSS) group was allocated N1,028,966,204.32, and the Cross Cutting (CC) section received N870,708,982.94.

According to the statement, the Federal University of Technology, Minna got the highest number with a total of 15 awards amounting to N400,035,708.51.

Others are Ahmadu Bello University with 13 awards totaling N359,809,744.18;

Federal University of Technology, Akure with 12 awards at N341,608,592.80 and

Federal University of Technology, Owerri with 11 awards at N256,350,698.80.

Others are Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi with 10 awards at N273,406,318.80; and University of Ilorin with 8 awards totaling N220,538,834.12.

The statement added that “Still in support of the creation of Innovation Hubs and Entrepreneurship Centres, the Federal Government also approved the allocation of funds under the 2025 Intervention to 15 TETFund Beneficiary Institutions.”