National Laureate Programme

31/08/2026

FG Extends Deadline For ₦365m National Laureate Award to Sept 15

● Universities, polytechnics get two more weeks to submit top research work Nigerian tertiary institutions have been granted a two-week extension to submit entries for the maiden edition of the National Laureate Programme, with the Federal Government moving the deadline from August 31 to September...

14/08/2026

NATIONAL LAUREATE COMMITTEE
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO SUBMITTING DISSERTATION AND THESIS ENTRIES FOR THE 2026 ₦365 MILLION NATIONAL PRIZE

Step 1: Log in to the National Laureate Committee (NLC) Portal

Visit:

https://nationallaureate.ng/login.php

Important: This assumes that your institution has constituted its Institutional Laureate Selection Committee and directed its NERD Focal Officer (NFO) to enrol and formally designate the appointed Committee members on NERD.

Committee members require this designation to access the Laureate Portal using their existing NERD credentials.

Step 2: Select “Manage Institution Entries”

On the Laureate Dashboard, click Manage Institution Entries from the top-right menu.

Step 3: Review Your Institution’s Submissions

The next page will display the dissertations, projects and theses submitted within your institution, grouped under the relevant academic levels:

* Undergraduate
* Master’s
* Doctoral

This also applies to their recognised equivalents in polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education and other accredited tertiary institutions.

Step 4: Search for the Selected Work

Use the filters at the top of the page to search for a specific dissertation, project or thesis that your Committee intends to consider for entry.

Step 5: Review the Submission Details

Once you locate the work your Committee intends to enter into the competition, click View.

Carefully review the submission details and confirm that all information provided is correct.

Step 6: Verify the Submission Evidence

On the View page, click View Submission Evidence.

Confirm that all required departmental and institutional attestations have been properly supplied.

Step 7: Review the Authoritative Student File

Click Open Authoritative Student File to view the exact PDF of the dissertation, project or thesis as originally submitted.

The Committee should review the document and satisfy itself that it is the work approved for institutional entry.

Step 8: Return to the Selected Entry

Once the review is completed and everything is in order, click Back to Previous Page or Back to Dashboard to return to the relevant work selected by your Committee for entry into the competition.

Step 9: Complete the Institutional Declaration

Tick the oath checkbox and carefully read the declaration before proceeding.

By ticking the checkbox, the Committee is making the prescribed institutional declaration in respect of the selected entry.

Step 10: Submit the Entry

Click Submit Entry.

This completes the submission process for that particular entry.

The Committee may thereafter proceed to review and submit other eligible works selected by the institution.

Maximum Number of Entries

Each institution may submit up to 18 entries, comprising:

* Up to six Undergraduate dissertations/projects;
* Up to six Master’s theses; and
* Up to six Doctoral theses;

or their recognised equivalents, drawn from the six approved thematic areas.

Important Guidance for Committee Members

All members of the Institutional Laureate Selection Committee are strongly encouraged to read the NLC-approved Guideline and Operational Manual before completing their institutional submissions.

Guideline and Operational Manual:

https://nationallaureate.ng/laureate_committee_user_guide.php

06/08/2026

FG Begins 2026 National Laureate Programme for Research https://punchng.com/fg-begins-2026-national-laureate-programme/

06/08/2026

A New Era for Academic Excellence in Nigeria

The Federal Government has repositioned academic excellence, research, innovation, and the commercialisation of research as key drivers of national development with the inauguration of the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Committee by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, CON.

Describing the National Laureate Programme as a strategic national intervention, the Honourable Minister said the initiative is intended to ensure that scholarly excellence receives the same level of national recognition accorded to achievement in other sectors. He charged the Committee with developing transparent award criteria, overseeing an independent adjudication process, engaging stakeholders across Nigeria's tertiary education system, and safeguarding the integrity, credibility, and prestige of the Programme.

The Committee is chaired by Emeritus Professor Abubakar Sambo OON.

Other members of the Committee are Professor Solomon Nwhator of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Professor (Mrs.) Tolulope Ariyomo of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti; Professor Francis F. Uba of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo; Dr Babangida Abubakar Albaba, representing the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE); Dr Salihu Bakari Girei, representing TETFund; Professor (Mrs.) Carol Arinze-Umobi of Nnamdi Azikiwe University; Dr (Mrs.) Obianuju Anigbogu, representing the Federal Ministry of Education; Mr. Francis Egbokare, representing the Nigerian Academy of Letters; Dr Ezinne Orisakwe, representing the National Universities Commission (NUC); Dr Pius O. Ekireghwo, representing the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE); while Mr Richard Falaye, Secretary of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), serves as Secretary to the Committee.

With an annual prize fund of approximately ₦365 million, the National Laureate Programme will recognise outstanding undergraduate dissertations, master's theses, and doctoral (PhD) theses. It will also confer six National Laureate Excellence Awards in Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Law, Arts and Social Sciences, and Teaching Innovation.

Among the landmark announcements made by the Honourable Minister was the establishment of the Dr Stella Adadevoh Excellence Award in Medicine and Medical Innovation, in honour of the late physician whose leadership during Nigeria's 2014 Ebola outbreak helped prevent a wider public health crisis. Stella Adadevoh

Speaking on behalf of the Committee, Professor Sambo pledged that the selection process would be transparent, merit-based, nationally inclusive, and free from institutional bias, ensuring that every deserving student in Nigeria's accredited tertiary institutions has an equal opportunity to attain National Laureate status.

The maiden National Laureate Awards Ceremony is scheduled for November 2026, marking the commencement of a national initiative designed to celebrate scholarship, reward innovation, encourage research commercialisation, and inspire a new generation of researchers, inventors, and problem-solvers.