The National Universities Commission has received €3 million as the first tranche of a $40 million loan secured from the French Development Agency to support ICT development across 10 selected universities in Nigeria.
Executive Secretary of the NUC, Abdullahi Ribadu, announced the development on Wednesday during the inaugural meeting of the 13th NUC Board in Abuja. Ribadu said the funds had been deposited into the commission’s Central Bank account to kick-start the ICT Blueprint Project.
He noted that since assuming office nearly a year ago, the commission has advanced initiatives in research, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and skills development across the university system.
“We have secured a $40 million loan from the French Development Agency for the ICT Blueprint Project in 10 selected universities. Only yesterday, the director confirmed to me that the first tranche of €3m has been deposited in our CBN account to begin the process,” Ribadu said.
He added that the commission has strengthened internal financial management, licensed new private universities, approved additional academic programmes and supported the take-off of newly established public universities. He also said the commission is expanding open and distance learning centres and is currently conducting the 2025 accreditation exercise.
assured the newly inaugurated board of the commission’s cooperation and expressed confidence in its capacity to guide ongoing reforms.
Chairman of the 13th NUC Board, Emeritus Professor Oluremi Aina, commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting higher education and outlined five strategic pillars that will guide the board’s work. These include performance evaluation, improved university rankings, enhanced digital literacy, strengthened research output and institutional reforms.
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Aina said the board would prioritise resolving outstanding issues with university unions, improving funding mechanisms and promoting the use of artificial intelligence to reposition Nigerian universities globally.
“Nigerian universities cannot thrive on ingenuity alone. The board must intensify the search for alternative funding sources, strengthen utilisation and explore emerging opportunities,” he said.
He added that the board will leverage technology to streamline regulatory operations and strengthen accreditation processes.
Earlier in the year, the French Development Agency approved a €38 million credit facility to support the digital transformation of 10 federal universities under the ICT Blueprint-Dev Project, which is expected to upgrade digital infrastructure and improve ICT capacity across beneficiary institutions.