The minister said that a 10-member National Laureate Prize Committee had been inaugurated, chaired by Prof. Abubakar Sambo, to oversee submissions, screening, and selection of winners nationwide.

The programme is expected to kick off with a call for entries in May 2026, with evaluations scheduled between June and September, while winners will be honoured at a National Laureate Gala in November in Abuja.

The government said the initiative marks anews anew era where academic research is not only a requirement for graduation but a pathway to national recognition, innovation, and substantial financial reward.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has adopted a results-driven model for its N12 billion National Digital Economy Research Clusters programme, ensuring that funding and support are tied to measurable outputs, and policy relevance.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja.

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The minister’s remark follows his announcement at the weekend on his X handle, where he invited academic institutions to participate in the research clusters, marking a critical step in Nigeria’s efforts to integrate rigorous, evidence-based research into digital economy policy.

According to him, the three-year initiative will link funding to measurable outcomes and policy relevance, with roughly N1.5 billion allocated to each thematic cluster.

Tijani noted that the clusters are designed to generate practical insights that directly inform policy, while strengthening Nigeria’s research capacity.

He said that each cluster would be supported by three post-doctoral fellows and three PhD students per professor, and they will collaborate with foreign researchers to expand capacity and funding.