RSITIE VE S C NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION NI O U M L M A I S N S O I I I O O T T N N A A N N T H C E OU VI GHT AND SER MONDAY A PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY www.nuc.edu.ng Bulletin th 0795-3089 9 August, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 28 Buhari approves N8.5bn for research in 2021 President Muhammadu Buhari billion in 2019 alone and in Bogoro, however, decried the has approved the sum of N8.5 2020 we raised it to N7.5 failure on research institutes billion for the conduct of billion. to have the appetite to ground-breaking research in establish a good relationship medicine and other areas in 2021, under the National Research Fund (NRF) scheme, f u n d e d b y t h e T e r t i a r y E d u c a t i o n T r u s t F u n d (TETFund). E x e c u t i v e S e c r e t a r y o f TETFund, Prof Suleiman Bogoro, disclosed this last Wednesday in Abuja at a workshop for Directors of \Research and Development in public universities in Nigeria. Bogoro said the made a case to the Board of Trustees to increase the NRF research grant, from an initial seed sum of N3 billion which was Muhammadu Buhari exhausted and N1 billion was President, Federal Republic of Nigeria added between 2016 and 2019. "This year, Mr. President has with universities for the approved another N7.5 billon p u r p o s e o f p r o m o t i n g "But when I came, I decided to but with additional N1billion. research and development, revolutionise it and I said it is We intend to do ground stating that universities are not a question of seed money breaking research around also disregarding them. let it be annual money and that medicine even in respect to was why I made a case for N5 the Covid-19 challenge,” he said. in this edition Pg. 4 Pg. 8 Pg. 11 EDITORIAL BOARD: Ibrahim Usman Yakasai (Chairman), Mrs. Offiong U. Edor (Editor), Ogbonnaya Okoronkwo, Francis Azu, Udey Felix, Muhammad Bukhari Musa, Aja-Nwachukwu Samuel, Sadiq Abubakar Enquiries: [email protected] 9th August, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 28 FG Declares Meeting with ASUU Successful, To Release N30bn The Federal Government has system to the current payment universities by the Federal declared its meeting with the platform. Ministry of Education and the Academic Staff Union of N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t i e s Universities (ASUU), aimed at evaluating the implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) entered into by the parties as successful. Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said the meeting evaluated seven key issues, with both parties expressing s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h t h e implementation stages of what he termed “work in progress.” Dr. Chris Ngige Minster of Labour and Employment Ngige said the Federal Commission (NUC). He said, some of the items Government has also released implemented in the MoA were the sum of N30 billion as the He added that apart from the nearly hundred percent within University Revitalisation N40 billion earned allowances the timeline. The Minister said Fund as contained in the MoA which the federal government the National Information since January 2021. The had paid, the Budget Office of Technology Development money according to him, was th e F e d e r a t i o n s h o w e d Agency (NITDA) was directed however, still lodged with the evidence that N22 billion to expedite action on the Central Bank of Nigeria earned allowances for 2021 integrity test on the University ( C B N ) , p e n d i n g t h e was already captured in the Transparency Accountability conclusion of the Audit 2021 supplementary budget Solution (UTAS) which, if Report of the Implementation and would soon be accessed. successful, would eliminate the Committee on the use of challenges posed by the previous funds disbursed to peculiarities of the university MONDAY BULLETIN | A Publication Of The Office Of The Executive Secretary Page 02 9th August, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 28 World Bank, NUC Organise Procurement Clinic for SPESSE Centres The National Universities he had expected the Vice- procurement clinic, aimed at Commission (NUC) and the Chancellors to be present since sensitising the participants on World Bank (WB) last week, t h e y w e r e t h e m a j o r the nitty-gritty of the World o r g a n i s e d a F i d u c i a r y beneficiaries. Bank’s expectations on the Procurement Clinic for six Procurement procedure for the Nigerian Universities across He pointed out that many new project. the geo-political zones that won VCs have just emerged which ES, NUC, Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed (2nd left); DES Acad, Dr. Suleiman Ramon Yusuf (1st left); World Bank Specialist, Chief Bayo Awosemusi and Dr. Joshua Atta (2nd right) and Rep. of the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. Adebowale as Centres for Sustainable also made it imperative that Prof. Rasheed argued that Procurement Environmental they were updated on the steps SPESSE was unique being a a n d S o c i a l S t a n d a r d s already taken, peculiarities of r e s u l t - b a s e d a n d Enhancement (SPESSE) and the SPESSE Project and their Disbursement-based Link t h e A f r i c a C e n t r e s o f expectations. Indicator (DLI) financed Excellence (ACE) Projects. P r o j e c t w h i c h h a d t h e He explained that many p r i v i l e g e o f r e c e i v i n g Welcoming the participants as Universities benefitting from technical assistance from the C h i e f H o s t , E x e c u t i v e the World Bank Project stand WB. This according to them Secretary of NUC, Prof. to lose out if they were not was aimed at removing Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, serious and that their funds encumbrances and meeting mni, MFR, FNAL, said the would be reallocated to more basic requirements of the clinic was vital because the WB serious institutions. project. was very much interested on how the money loaned to He recalled many ACE He also disclosed that the beneficiaries was being spent. Centres lost out because they National Assembly had could not cope with the already approved the WB He stated that it was the reason demands of Procurement and funding of the projects in the universities were the primary Financial Accountability, higher institutions and that target of the Procurement stressing that it was the d i s b u r s e m e n t w o u l d Clinic, expressing concern that r a t i o n a l e b e h i n d t h e commence when the Finance MONDAY BULLETIN | A Publication Of The Office Of The Executive Secretary Page 03 9th August, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 28 M i n i s t r y c o n c l u d e t h e to the ACE and SPESSE and evaluation of the work that outstanding issues of due Projects. He pledged that had been done. diligence and documentation under the watch of the NUC, He noted that Procurement p r o c e s s i n d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s w a s u s u a l l y h a m p e r e d b y p o o r performance and corruption, resulting from non-adherence t o d u e p r o c e s s e s a n d Procedures, poor resource utilization, poor personnel management and training/ inadequate payment and benefits. He stated that on the basis of this, government had Participants to set up the Bureau of Public on disbursement of the funds. the objectives of the project Procurement (BPP) in Nigeria. would be met and wished the The Executive Secretary urged participants a successful H e l a m e n t e d t h a t t h e the Vice-Chancellors and deliberation. procurement department of Centre Coordinators to work public entities in Nigeria were harmoniously and to avoid any In his opening remarks, WB fraught with the problems of disagreement, so that they Procurement Specialist, Chief n o t h a v i n g e n o u g h could attract not just timely Bayo Awosemusi, said that the i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e release of funds but more Bank was serious on how the procurement procedure, its funding, insisting that no fund it disbursed was spent. He inputs, outputs, resource centre could succeed if there was problem.