Reported by Weng Patrick Atokor l Journalist at Weng Global
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted the National Research and Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026 to the Nigerian Senate, seeking legislative approval for a central mechanism to coordinate and finance research and development activities across the country.
The bill is intended to consolidate fragmented research funding currently spread across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), while creating a more coordinated framework through which research institutions and academic organisations can access funding.
The development comes as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s research, science, technology and innovation ecosystem and increase the conversion of research findings into commercial products, businesses and jobs.
Tinubu asks Senate to consider bill
In a letter to the Senate, Tinubu said the proposed legislation was designed to improve the efficiency of research financing and bring different government-supported research funds under a central mechanism.
According to the letter, the proposed National Research and Development Fund would provide a competitive funding platform for research agencies and academic institutions.
The President said the current proliferation of research institutions and agencies, each operating with separate mandates and budgetary allocations, had created a need for better coordination and management of available resources.
He also asked the Senate to consider and pass the legislation expeditiously.
The bill has therefore moved into the legislative process, where its provisions will be examined by lawmakers before any decision on passage.
Proposed fund to bring research financing together
One of the central objectives of the proposed legislation is to address the fragmentation of research financing in Nigeria.
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation said earlier in September that the government was working toward a stronger and more coordinated national framework for research and innovation governance and financing.
At a stakeholder sensitisation workshop in Abuja on September 16, officials discussed draft legislation for a National Council on Research and Innovation (NCRI) and a National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF).
The ministry said the framework was intended to improve coordination, provide more predictable research financing and accelerate the movement of research discoveries into technology, enterprises, jobs and practical solutions to national challenges.
The latest bill transmitted to the Senate reflects that broader policy direction.
Federal Government wants stronger link between research and industry
The proposed fund is also expected to encourage collaboration between research institutions, universities and the private sector.
According to the President’s letter, the proposed fund would operate as a competitive central funding mechanism intended to foster strategic collaboration among research agencies, academia and private-sector organisations.
The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology has similarly identified the commercialisation of research and innovation as a priority.
The ministry said in September that Nigeria needed mechanisms capable of moving research findings beyond laboratories and into technologies, enterprises and commercially viable solutions.
The ministry also highlighted the importance of competitive grants, technical and peer review, milestone-based disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, intellectual-property management and technology transfer in ensuring that research funding produces measurable results.
Proposed agency would operate under Innovation Ministry
Under the proposal described in Tinubu’s letter, the National Research and Development Fund would be established as an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.
The letter states that the fund would receive direct funding from the Nigerian Content Development Fund, according to the details reported by Punch.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) already operates research and development financing within the oil and gas sector.
The NCDMB launched a US$50 million Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund in 2021 to support basic and applied research, research commercialisation, research centres of excellence and academic endowments.
The NCDMB has explained that its Nigerian Content Development Fund is funded through the statutory one per cent contribution from contracts awarded in the upstream oil and gas sector under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
The proposed national framework would therefore have implications for how existing research financing mechanisms are coordinated and deployed.
Nigeria already has several research funding channels
Nigeria’s research ecosystem currently includes a number of institutions and programmes supporting research and innovation.
These include TETFund, NCDMB, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and other government institutions.
A policy study on Nigeria’s research and innovation funding ecosystem noted that research funding is distributed across several ministries, agencies and specialised institutions. It argued that a more comprehensive mechanism could help address gaps in coordination and access to research financing.
TETFund, for example, approved ₦10 billion for its 2026 National Research Fund Grant Cycle, covering research projects across 30 priority thematic areas. The 2025 cycle had supported 174 research projects with slightly more than ₦6.09 billion, according to TETFund information reported by Punch.
The existence of multiple funding channels makes coordination a central issue for the proposed legislation.
Earlier legislative efforts
The proposal also comes against the background of previous attempts to establish a stronger national research and innovation framework through legislation.
The National Assembly’s bill tracker records a National Research and Innovation Council (Establishment) Bill, 2022, which was listed as a Senate bill and received second reading in January 2022.
The National Assembly has also previously considered legislation dealing with national research and innovation structures, demonstrating that the question of how Nigeria should coordinate and finance research has been part of legislative discussions for several years.
The current bill represents another attempt to create a more centralised statutory framework.
Why the proposed fund matters
Research funding has implications beyond universities and academic institutions.
A functioning research and development system can influence the development of new technologies, agricultural solutions, healthcare innovations, industrial processes and digital products.
For Nigeria, the government’s stated objective is also to strengthen the connection between research and economic activity.
The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology has said its broader research and innovation agenda is aimed at using science, technology and innovation to support job creation, youth entrepreneurship, commercialisation of indigenous research and the development of a stronger national innovation ecosystem.
The effectiveness of the proposed fund, however, will depend on the final legislation and how its governance, funding, grant allocation and accountability mechanisms are implemented.
Stakeholders have already identified transparency, competitive grant processes, peer review, monitoring, evaluation and intellectual-property management as important safeguards for the proposed framework.
Senate consideration now becomes the next step
Tinubu’s transmission of the bill does not mean the proposed fund has already been established.
The Senate must consider the legislation through the legislative process, including scrutiny of its provisions and any amendments lawmakers may propose.
If passed by the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President, the legislation would provide the statutory foundation for the proposed national research and development financing structure.
For researchers, universities, research agencies and private-sector innovators, the eventual framework could determine how national research funding is coordinated and accessed.
For now, the immediate development is that President Tinubu has formally asked the Senate to consider the National Research and Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026.
The next significant developments will depend on the Senate’s consideration of the proposal and the subsequent legislative process.
Sources
- Punch — Report on President Tinubu’s transmission of the National Research and Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026 to the Senate.
- Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation — Stakeholder sensitisation on the proposed national research and innovation governance and financing framework.
- National Assembly of Nigeria — Bill tracker and previous legislative records concerning national research and innovation legislation.
- Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board — Information on the Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund and its financing framework.
- TETFund research grant information reported by Punch — 2026 National Research Fund Grant Cycle.
