TETFund’s Laboratory Project: A New Dawn For Science In Nigeria

TETFund’s Laboratory Project: A New Dawn For Science In Nigeria

Nigeria’s quest to reposition science, research and innovation may finally be approaching a defining moment as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) moves ahead with investment in multi-purpose zonal laboratories across the country’s geopolitical zones.

The project, a strategic national investment, is expected to address decades of inadequate scientific infrastructure that has slowed research, innovation and industrial growth in the country.

It is a carefully designed framework aimed at ensuring that the laboratories are not only equipped with world-class facilities, but also managed sustainably to meet international standards.

The project is expected to serve universities, researchers, industries and the wider scientific community, while reducing Nigeria’s dependence on foreign laboratories for advanced testing and research analysis.

Speaking while receiving the report on the equipment of the laboratories recently in Abuja, TETFund executive secretary, Arch Sonny Echono expressed appreciation to the committee for a painstaking and patriotic assignment undertaken in the national interest.

He recalled that the idea of establishing zonal laboratories had existed for more than a decade but was initially shelved after the Federal Government decided to establish new universities in states without federal institutions.

According to him, current realities have shown clearly that Nigeria urgently requires world-class research infrastructure to support industrialisation, technological innovation and economic growth.

He lamented the continued dependence on foreign countries for laboratory analysis and scientific testing, saying it was unacceptable that Nigerian samples were still being taken to countries such as the United Kingdom, South Africa and even Ghana for basic analysis.

Echono recalled the difficulties Nigeria experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic due to inadequate laboratory facilities, explaining that delays in obtaining test results worsened the spread of infections across the country.

He also noted that many research projects in Nigerian universities had either been abandoned or compromised because researchers lacked access to stable power supply, modern equipment and proper scientific infrastructure.

To address funding limitations, Echono explained that the laboratory projects were being executed in phases, with Kano among the first set expected to become operational.

He disclosed that the Kano facility could be ready for equipment installation before August, while three others are projected for completion by February next year.

According to him, TETFund deliberately decided to synchronise equipment procurement with the completion of the facilities to avoid commissioning empty buildings.

Echono assured stakeholders that the reports submitted by the committee, especially recommendations on governance and sustainability, would be studied carefully to ensure proper management and maintenance of the laboratories.

Part of the sustainability plan, he explained, involves strong collaboration with industries and the organised private sector, particularly because the locations of the facilities were selected partly based on proximity and accessibility to industrial clusters.

He added that although the laboratories would be located within universities, they would operate under quasi-autonomous arrangements that would enable them to establish partnerships, undertake commercial activities and generate revenue for sustainability.

He said; “Our country is in dear need of these facilities as the engines of growth to stimulate our industrial transformation and research.

“The flagship of these efforts are these multi-purpose laboratories. They will wipe away our sense of shame and restore our national pride.

“We thought it wise rather than wait and commission empty buildings, it was good to synchronise also the equipment phase so we will start the equipment procurement and installation from Kano that is ready to receive them.

“We want to ensure that the right equipment and the right quality are what we get, even if we need to send some committee members for pre-shipment inspection,” he added.

The TETFund boss further disclosed that members of the advisory committee would continue to play oversight roles during procurement and installation phases to ensure that supplied equipment meets approved specifications and quality standards.

If successfully implemented, the facilities could open a new chapter for Nigerian universities, researchers and industries, while helping the country compete more effectively in the global knowledge economy.

Also speaking, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola Maiyaki, who is the chairman of the committee said the initiative is a game-changing intervention capable of transforming Nigeria’s scientific and technological landscape.

Maiyaki said the committee, inaugurated on February 17, 2026, was given the technically demanding responsibility of advising TETFund on the most efficient and effective equipment to procure for the laboratories, as well as developing a framework for their operation, management and long-term sustainability.

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According to him, members of the committee approached the assignment with a deep sense of responsibility because of the significance of the project to Nigeria’s future.

He noted that the committee undertook extensive reviews of critical documents, including the 2011 Education Trust Fund consultants’ budget estimate and the 2023 report of the ad hoc committee on the establishment of central multi-purpose laboratories headed by Professor Emeritus Olufemi Bamiro.

Maiyaki disclosed that members of the committee later embarked on verification visits to all the institutions to assess the level of work on the laboratory complexes and engage with university management, researchers and scientific communities within the institutions.

The visits, he said, revealed varying levels of progress across the project sites. While Bayero University Kano had reached an advanced stage, with its physical sciences building already completed and the overall complex nearing 80 per cent completion, institutions such as the University of Maiduguri and the University of Nigeria recorded very low completion levels of about two and three per cent respectively.

He stressed that the timely completion of the laboratory buildings was critical, warning that deploying highly sophisticated and expensive scientific equipment into uncompleted or unsuitable facilities could expose the national assets to damage.

“The committee believes strongly that equipment procurement and installation must be synchronised with the readiness of the buildings.”

One of the major outcomes of the committee’s assignment, according to Maiyaki, is the development of a consolidated multidisciplinary equipment list covering physical sciences, engineering, life sciences, computing and information technology, field and workshop equipment, as well as general laboratory instruments.

The report also recommended the establishment of advanced standalone systems for cell culture and high-performance computing infrastructure, all designed to position the zonal laboratories as globally competitive research facilities.

Aside equipment procurement, the committee focused heavily on governance structures and sustainability models, insisting that world-class infrastructure without strong institutional management would fail to deliver the expected transformative impact.

Maiyaki noted that the proposed governance framework was designed to support growth, development and eventual international accreditation of the laboratories. He added that the committee envisioned the laboratories as institutions with international relevance rather than purely local facilities.

According to him, the committee recommended a lean but efficient management structure during the early phase of operation, with a focus on research and development, analytical services, training and capacity building.

He described the laboratories as Nigeria’s response to the long-standing deficit in scientific infrastructure that has forced researchers to depend on foreign facilities for benchmark studies and advanced analysis.

“These are not mere laboratories; they are strategic national assets,” Maiyaki declared, adding that the project would significantly improve postgraduate research, innovation and national development.

The former NUC boss also commended TETFund management for conceiving and sustaining the project, singling out Echono for what he described as visionary leadership and courage in driving the initiative.