A major research boost has come to Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), as the institution has taken delivery of 79 sophisticated research and scientific equipment items valued at $298,104.71 (₦480.2 million). The equipment, sourced through a global science development initiative by Seeding Labs, was secured by Professor Oluwafemi Ogunmodede, a Professor of Industrial Chemistry and the university’s Director of Academic Planning.
This milestone was announced in a statement released by the university’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Tunde Olofintila, who noted that the new additions would significantly enhance ABUAD’s research capacity. He described the equipment as state-of-the-art and highlighted how it complements other grants previously won by ABUAD scholars.
Among earlier beneficiaries of Seeding Labs support is Professor Pius Okiki, Provost of ABUAD’s College of Sciences, who secured research equipment valued at $221,041.98 (₦356 million) in 2023. Similarly, Professor Olusegun Adebayo AdeOluwa from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics received approval in January 2023 and, after the university paid a counterpart sum of $27,800, took delivery of 53 high-grade scientific tools worth ₦427.4 million in July 2024.
In another feat, Dr. Juliet Olayinka of the Department of Pharmacology won an Observer 5 Microscope with Fluorescence and Camera under the Africa Microscopy Initiative in November 2024. The equipment, valued at $80,000 (₦136 million), was delivered to the university in April this year.
Founder of the institution, Aare Afe Babalola, congratulated the researchers for attracting high-value equipment that reinforces ABUAD’s alignment with the World Bank’s tripartite mission of quality teaching, quality research, and impactful engagement. He stated that such acquisitions would strengthen the university’s ongoing pharmaceutical and medical research, which has already produced innovations such as Virucidine (an immune booster), Natucadine (an anti-ageing supplement), and AB-Mal (an anti-malaria treatment).
Babalola emphasized that beyond advancing local research, the equipment would reduce the country’s dependence on foreign labs and help conserve scarce foreign exchange. He reiterated the university’s commitment to supporting innovation, stressing that ABUAD’s performance has gained global attention.
“In the latest Times Higher Education Impact Rankings,” he said, “our 15-year-old university was ranked No. 1 globally in SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), No. 1 in Outreach with a 98 per cent score, No. 1 worldwide in Stewardship at 98.2 per cent, and the No. 1 university in Nigeria across federal, state, and private institutions for three straight years — 2022, 2023, and 2024.”
Speaking during a tour of the newly acquired equipment at the Bogoro Drug Research Centre, Prof. Okiki joined Prof. Ogunmodede in praising the ABUAD founder for his vision and steadfast support for functional education. He noted that the new equipment would significantly improve training and research for both staff and students across several faculties including Medicine, Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Nursing, Science, and Engineering.
He added that it would be instrumental to the work being done at the ABUAD Industrial Research Park and the ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, a 400-bed ultra-modern health facility. According to him, researchers would no longer need to send samples abroad or rely on foreign labs for analysis, as ABUAD now has the infrastructure to support advanced studies and diagnostics in-house.
With this latest round of equipment acquisition, ABUAD continues to position itself as a leading research institution in Africa, actively bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world innovation.
