On Friday, August 12, 2022, top officials from the World Bank and the National Universities Commission (NUC) paid a high-level visit to two centres of research domiciled at the University of Lagos. The research centres are the African Centre of Excellence Drug Research, Herbal Medicine Development, and Regulatory Science (ACE-DHARS) and the UNILAG Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (UNILAG-SPESSECE).
The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the activities and achievements of the two research centres, vis-à-vis their funding mandate.
The Lead Governance Specialist (Procurement) at the World Bank, Chief Bayo Awosemusi, led the visiting team. He commended the performance of the Team Leads of the two research centres, and also showered praises on the Management of the University for its committed support for the centres’ activities. He charged the centres to pursue collaborations with industry players in order to ensure an integration that will feed both theory and praxis in a sustainable manner.
In his remarks, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Mr. Chris Mayaki, hailed the University of Lagos as the trailblazer of the internationalisation of Nigeria’s university education. He expressed confidence in the abilities of the faculty members at the two centres to justify the resources invested in them.
Thereafter, Dr. Ade Bolanle Ade-Ademilua, Director of the African Centre of Excellence Drug Research, Herbal Medicine Development, and Regulatory Science (ACE-DHARS) and Dr. O. Akanmu, Director of the UNILAG Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (UNILAG-SPESSECE), presented their reports respectively.
Chief Awosemusi hailed the presentations, and encouraged the two centres to back up their reports with sufficient data before final submissions.
To round off the visit, the officials toured the two centres for on-the-spot assessment of their facilities.
