FG Promotes Academic Excellence With National Laureate Committee, Annual Student Award

The Federal Government on Monday inaugurated the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Committee in what education stakeholders described as one of Nigeria’s most ambitious efforts to reposition scholarship, innovation and research as national priorities.

“The Committee will introduce a new annual awards programme to reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s and PhD research with prizes worth about N365 million.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, inaugurated the Committee at the Digital Resource Centre, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

The committee is charged with the oversight of the implementation of the National Laureate Programme, a flagship initiative to bring academic excellence to the highest level of national recognition.

It will also foster research commercialisation and innovation in Nigerian accredited post-secondary and tertiary institutions.

Speaking on the inauguration exercise, Dr Alausa said the programme was a conscious effort by the Federal Government to re-jig the country’s reward system.

It will put scholarly achievement, scientific discovery and innovation alongside other nationally celebrated accomplishments, he says.

The Minister add that the initiative is expected to inspire a new generation of young Nigerians to pursue researches that can solve real world problems, create new industries and enhance the nation’s global competitiveness.
He said: “The ability to turn knowledge into economic value will be increasingly important in determining the future prosperity of nations.

He said Nigeria must consciously celebrate intellectual achievement if it wants to build a globally competitive knowledge economy.

Alausa said the Federal Government considered it necessary to establish a national platform in an era increasingly dominated by the social media-driven “attention economy”. The platform will reward creativity, scholarship, invention and commercially valuable research, especially among young people.

The newly inaugurated Committee is chaired by the President, Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Abubakar Sambo.

Other names are Professor Solomon Nwhator, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Professor (Mrs) Tolulope Ariyomo, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti; Professor Francis F. Uba, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo; Dr Babangida Abubakar Albaba, representing National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Dr Salihu Bakari Girei representing Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Others are Professor (Mrs) Carol Arinze-Umobi of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Dr (Mrs) Obianuju Anigbogu, representing Federal Ministry of Education; Mr Francis Egbokare, representing Nigerian Academy of Letters; Dr Ezinne Orisakwe, representing the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Dr Pius O. Ekireghwo, representing the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

Also, the Secretary of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), Mr Richard Falaye, is to serve as the Secretary to the Committee.

The inaugural National Laureate Awards will take place in November 2026. The awards will honour the country’s top Undergraduate Dissertations, Master’s Theses and Doctoral (PhD) Theses, in addition to six thematic Excellence Awards.

The thematic categories are Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Law, Arts and Social Sciences and Teaching Innovation.
The approved prize structure sees the winner of the Undergraduate Dissertation category taking home N35 million, while the best Master’s Thesis will attract N50 million. The overall winner in the Doctoral (PhD) category will be awarded N100 million.

Also, six National Laureate Excellence Awards to the tune of N30 million each shall be given annually.

That will bring the programme’s total prize pool to an estimated N365 million annually.

The Minister also announced the setting up of the Dr Stella Adadevoh Excellence Award in Medicine and Medical Innovation. The late physician, whose leadership during the 2014 Ebola outbreak averted a national public health catastrophe, is the recipient of one of the programme’s special awards.

He also asked the Committee to complete its work on eligibility criteria, evaluation procedures and institutional engagement in good time to ensure successful hosting of the inaugural awards in November.

Dr Alausa also seized the opportunity to commend Engr Olatunji Ariyomo, Chairman of NERD, for his innovative contributions to transformative interventions in Nigeria’s education sector.

The Chairman of the Committee, Emeritus Professor Abubakar Sambo, speaking for the Committee, said the initiative was a historic turning point in the country’s education policy. He commended the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for putting academic excellence and research at the heart of national development.

“The Committee will uphold the highest standards of transparency, fairness and merit throughout the selection process,” Professor Sambo assured.

He commended Dr Alausa for spearheading a national revolution to reward and promote innovation and its commercialisation, assuring that every eligible student irrespective of institution and geographical location would have equal opportunity to attain National Laureate status.

He said the process would be protected from institutional preference and other outside influences.
He also said he believed the National Laureate Programme could be one of the most consequential reforms in Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape if it is successfully implemented.

The committee argues the initiative signals a shift away from national priorities of social media celebrity culture towards a deliberate recognition of ideas, discoveries and innovations capable of driving economic transformation, over and above its substantial prize fund.

The programme is expected to deepen collaboration between universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, industry and government as well as create stronger incentives for commercially viable research and position Nigeria to compete more effectively within the global knowledge economy.