President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the National Research and Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026, to the Senate for consideration and passage.
The proposed legislation is aimed at bringing research and development funding currently spread across various Ministries, Departments and Agencies under a central funding mechanism.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the development during Tuesday’s plenary after reading Tinubu’s letter transmitting the bill to the upper chamber. He said the Senate would fast-track consideration of the proposal.
According to Tinubu, the proposed fund is intended to improve the financing of research, encourage collaboration between research agencies, academic institutions and the private sector, and channel resources towards strategic national priorities.
The President said the legislation would consolidate fragmented research and development funds across MDAs and promote more efficient use of available resources.
Under the proposal, the National Research and Development Fund would operate as a competitive central funding mechanism through which research agencies and academic institutions could access financing.
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Tinubu also proposed that the fund be established as an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, with direct funding from the Nigerian Content Development Fund.
He explained that the growing number of research institutions and agencies, each operating with separate mandates and budgetary allocations, had made improved coordination and management of research resources necessary.
The President said the bill had undergone review by relevant stakeholders, including the Ministries of Education, Innovation, Science and Technology, and Justice.
Tinubu subsequently urged the Senate to consider and pass the proposed legislation expeditiously, paving the way for the establishment of the new national research funding framework.