FG Launches $40M ICT Development Project In 10 Federal Universities

The Federal Government has launched the Blueprint-ICT-Dev Project, a $40 million initiative backed by the French Government through Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to digitally transform 10 selected federal universities across Nigeria.

At the launch event hosted by the NUC, Minister of Education Dr. Olatunji Alausa stated that the project aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aiming to modernize campuses, promote hybrid learning, and strengthen education through digital innovation. He described it as a strategic move to build resilience in the education sector post-COVID-19.

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The project has two components:
•$38 million to upgrade ICT infrastructure in selected universities
•$2 million to develop a National STEM Transformation Strategy.

The selected universities are:
•South-South: University of Calabar
•South-East: University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka
•South-West: University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife
•North-Central: University of Jos, Federal University of Technology Minna
•North-East: University of Maiduguri, Modibbo Adama University Yola
•North-West: Bayero University Kano

The initiative is expected to establish these institutions as ICT Centres of Excellence, driving teacher training, research, and digital education reform.

French Ambassador Marc Fonbaustier and AFD Country Director Xavier Muron praised the project as a landmark step toward inclusive and future-ready education. The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, emphasized the need for full digitisation of academic processes across universities.