President Bola Tinubu has transmitted the National Research and Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026, to the Senate for consideration and passage into law.
The proposed legislation seeks to consolidate fragmented research and development funding across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) into a central fund that research institutions and academic bodies can access.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, read Tinubu’s letter transmitting the bill during plenary on Tuesday. Akpabio said the Senate would expedite consideration of the proposal.
In the letter, Tinubu said the proposed fund would improve research financing, promote collaboration among research agencies, academic institutions and the private sector, and ensure that funding is directed towards strategic national priorities.
According to the President, the bill is intended to consolidate research financing and ensure more efficient utilisation of resources by bringing fragmented research and development funds across MDAs under one central mechanism.
The proposed National Research and Development Fund would operate as an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, with funding from the Nigerian Content Development Fund.
Tinubu said the proliferation of research institutions and agencies, each operating under separate mandates and receiving separate budgetary allocations, had made it necessary to improve the management of resources devoted to science, technology and innovation.
He added that the bill had been reviewed by relevant stakeholders, including the Ministries of Education, Innovation, Science and Technology, and Justice.
The President urged the Senate to consider and pass the bill expeditiously, saying the proposed legislation was designed to align research funding with Nigeria’s national education, science and technology priorities.
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