President Bola Tinubu has transmitted two executive bills—the National Postgraduate Medical College (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the National Research Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026—to the House of Representatives for consideration and passage.
The bills were conveyed in separate letters dated August 24, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas.
According to the executive communication, the National Postgraduate Medical College (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to reflect a change in the institution’s name and expand its mandate to award Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Clinical Medicine, Dentistry and related disciplines.
In the letter read on the floor by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Benjamin Kalu, President Tinubu said the Federal Ministry of Justice had vetted and finalised the amendment bill to align with legislative drafting standards and constitutional provisions before its transmission to the National Assembly.
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The National Research Development Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2026, proposes a central framework for consolidating research financing across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and streamlining resource allocation.
The President said the proposed fund would operate as an agency supervised by the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, with its primary funding derived directly from the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).
He said the proposed legislation was intended to establish a competitive central funding mechanism and foster collaboration among research institutions, academia and the private sector.
“The establishment of the National Research Development Fund will serve as a competitive central funding mechanism. It seeks to foster strategic collaboration among research agencies, academia, and the private sector,” the President wrote in his letter to the Speaker.
He noted that the fund would “catalyse groundbreaking innovations, streamline resource allocation according to strategic national priorities, ensure strict transparency in funding decisions through evaluation criteria, and drive the commercialisation of homegrown technology to reduce foreign technological dependency.”
President Tinubu said the proliferation of research institutes operating with separate mandates and budgetary allocations had weakened the impact of public spending on science and technology.
“It is pertinent to note that, with the current proliferation of research institutes and agencies operating within the research and development and commercialisation landscape, each agency operates with separate mandate and budgetary allocations,” he said.
He said the proposed legislation would ensure more efficient management of limited financial resources.
The President added that both bills underwent review by the Ministry of Justice alongside the Ministries of Education and Innovation, Science and Technology to ensure what he described as statutory clarity, legal precision and alignment with national education and innovation objectives.
