NLNG, NCDMB Commit $9m to Research in Six Nigerian Universities

The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have launched a $9 million research endowment programme for six Nigerian universities to strengthen local research capacity and develop practical solutions to challenges in the oil and gas industry.

Under the Nigerian Content Research and Development (NC-R&D) Professorial Chair Endowment Programme, each university will receive $1.5 million to establish a specialised professorial research chair focusing on agreed industry priorities.

NLNG Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, announced the initiative at its launch ceremony in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

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 Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja.

The research programme will address different areas of national and industry importance. The University of Ibadan will focus on natural gas processing, pollution control and environmental management, while Rivers State University will work on digital engineering, intelligent energy systems, automation and asset integrity.

Modibbo Adama University will research energy transition and the environment. Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology will focus on sustainable energy innovation and climate-resilient food systems.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, will undertake research in green energy production and geoenvironmental engineering, while Yakubu Gowon University will focus on geoscience and satellite intelligence for resilient gas infrastructure.

Falade said the investment was intended to help Nigerian universities translate academic research into practical solutions for industry. He identified operational efficiency, emissions management, safety, critical infrastructure maintenance and sustainable industrial processes as key areas requiring research.

He also disclosed that the NLNG Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering at Rivers State University would serve as a coordinating hub for collaboration among the six institutions.

The NLNG chief executive said prospective partners, including Google, Cisco and MTN, had indicated interest in supporting the initiative.

NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, described the endowment as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s research and innovation ecosystem. Represented at the event by his Senior Technical Adviser, Austin Uzoka, he urged the universities to prioritise research that produces measurable results and commercially viable applications rather than focusing mainly on academic publications.

The programme is also expected to support postgraduate training, academic exchanges, industry partnerships and the commercialisation of intellectual property.

Each university will work towards defined research targets and commercialisation pathways, while the institutions will jointly support knowledge-sharing and information management.

The initiative is aimed at strengthening cooperation between government, industry and academia while building Nigerian capacity to develop home-grown technologies for the energy sector.