Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have committed $9 million (N12.78 billion) to fund research and innovation programmes in six Nigerian universities.
The funding will establish professorial research chairs, with each university receiving $1.5 million (N2.13 billion) to strengthen research capacity and develop solutions to challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
NLNG Managing Director, Adeleye Falade, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
The initiative is being implemented under the Nigerian Content Research and Development Professorial Chair Endowment Programme, with NCDMB overseeing its execution through its Directorate of Planning, Research and Statistics.
The beneficiary institutions are the University of Ibadan, Rivers State University, Modibbo Adama University in Yola, Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology in Kano, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Abuja.
Rivers State University will host the NLNG Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering, which will coordinate activities under the programme.
Falade said discussions were ongoing with the university to finalise implementation arrangements. He also revealed that technology companies, including Google, Cisco and MTN, had expressed interest in supporting the initiative.
According to him, the programme is designed to improve collaboration between government, industry and academic institutions while developing local expertise in research and technological innovation.
Research activities will address key industry concerns such as operational efficiency, emissions management, workplace safety, critical infrastructure and sustainable industrial processes.
The programme will also support academic exchanges, specialised training, research collaborations, sabbatical opportunities and joint postgraduate curriculum development.
NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Ogbe, said the universities must ensure their research produces practical solutions that can be adopted by the oil and gas industry.
He noted that the initiative would connect academic knowledge with industry requirements, modern research facilities and opportunities to commercialise research findings.
Ogbe added that participating institutions would be assessed on measurable research outcomes, effective use of funds and their ability to maintain partnerships with industry players.
Under the programme, the six universities will pursue different research priorities. The University of Ibadan will focus on natural gas processing and environmental management, while Rivers State University will concentrate on digital engineering, intelligent energy systems and asset integrity.
Modibbo Adama University will research energy transition and environmental issues, while Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology will focus on sustainable energy and climate-resilient food systems.
The University of Nigeria will undertake research in green energy production and geoenvironmental engineering, while the University of Abuja will explore the use of geoscience and satellite intelligence to improve gas infrastructure resilience.
The endowment adds to recent funding efforts aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s tertiary education and research infrastructure. In July 2026, the Federal Government disclosed that it had invested more than N1 trillion in tertiary institutions over two years.
Similarly, in October 2026, the government announced the disbursement of N38.93 billion to 166 public tertiary institutions under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund to support infrastructure development.
