Ahmadu Bello University must actively engage the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to secure the required policy and financial backing for the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).
A statement from the public affairs directorate of the VC said this is part of the recommendations of the NAPRI Reform and Strategic Transformation Committee to the University Management.
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The committee was raised by the university leadership in October last year in response to NAPRI’s declining performance.
NAPRI, established in 1928 with a clear national mandate for animal research, is a component of Ahmadu Bello University.
Submitting its report to the university management, the committee also recommended that ABU should formally approve the logframe objectives in tackling the challenges confronting the institute.
It further urged that the university leadership should raise specialised implementation sub-committees in addressing NAPRI’s declining performance.
Additionally, the committee proposed an institutional performance benchmark to ensure accountability.
Explaining how the committee carried out its assignment, its Chairman, Prof J K P Kwaga, said they conducted document reviews, facility assessments, public calls for memoranda, and staff evaluations.
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He said its work was organised around four intervention pillars: realigning research units with global standards, building research capacity, mitigating internal and external performance barriers, and driving institutional revitalisation.
To address the challenges confronting the institute, Kwaga said the committee created an intervention logframe with 52 objectives across six thematic areas.
Key recommendations, according to him, include enforcing merit-based recruitment and mentorship as well as delivering grant-writing training.
Prof Kwaga said they also include executing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to commercialise the poultry hatchery, dairy processing facility, feed mill, and artificial insemination services.
The committee equally emphasised the urgent repair of laboratory utilities, the liquid nitrogen plant, and farm security infrastructure.
It also identified areas where the university could midwife improved internal and external collaborations to augment existing institutional capacities.
Constituted on 13th October, 2025, the committee was specifically mandated to identify the root causes of stagnation, assess staff capacity and research output over the last decade.
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It was also asked to review federal oversight reports, and formulate a recovery plan complete with KPIs, a sustainable funding model, and policy interventions aligned with national food security goals.