Professor of Industrial Chemistry and Director of Academic Planning at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Oluwafemi Ogunmodede, has secured 79 sophisticated research and science equipment items for the university, valued at $298,104.71 (₦480.2 million), from the international organisation Seeding Labs.
This was disclosed by ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Tunde Olofintila, in a press statement issued on Wednesday.
He confirmed that the university had already taken delivery of the state-of-the-art equipment, which adds to several earlier research grants won by other academics at the institution.
“With this latest addition secured by Prof. Ogunmodede, the quantum of state-of-the-art research and science equipment at ABUAD has reached a new height,” Olofintila stated.
He recalled that in 2023, Prof. Pius Okiki, a Professor of Microbiology and Provost of the College of Sciences, secured research equipment worth $221,041.98 (₦356 million).
Similarly, Prof. Olusegun Adebayo AdeOluwa of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, submitted an application to Seeding Labs in January 2023.
Following the approval of Prof. Ade Oluwa’s request, the university paid a counterpart fund of $27,800 and subsequently received 53 specialised research and science equipment items, valued at ₦427.4 million, on July 30, 2024.
In addition, Dr Juliet Olayinka of the Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, won an Observer 5 Microscope with Fluorescence and Camera from the Africa Microscopy Initiative in November 2024.
The microscope, valued at $80,000 (₦136 million), was delivered to the university in April 2025.
ABUAD founder, Aare Afe Babalola, commended the efforts of the researchers, describing their success in attracting world-class equipment as a reflection of their commitment to enhancing the university’s contributions to teaching, research and societal impact, three functions recognised by the World Bank as core to any university.
“The newly acquired equipment will greatly assist the university, which has successfully produced Virucidine (an immune system booster syrup), Natucadine (an anti-ageing herbal supplement), and AB-Mal (an anti-malaria capsule), in its research across Medicine, Pharmacy, and the Sciences,” Babalola said.
He also emphasised that deploying the equipment effectively would help reduce the need to import medical products and save the country valuable foreign exchange.
“I congratulate the university for standing out in fulfilling the three core functions stipulated by the World Bank. Our undeniable performance has been acknowledged globally,” Babalola added.
He cited ABUAD’s recent rankings in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, where the university was named No. 1 globally for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, and No. 1 in the world in Outreach and Stewardship with scores of 98 and 98.2 per cent respectively.
ABUAD was also ranked the No. 1 university in Nigeria across all categories, federal, state and private for three consecutive years: 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Prof. Okiki, who joined Prof. Ogunmodede in taking Aare Babalola on a tour of the newly delivered equipment at the Bogoro Drug Research Centre, praised the university’s founder for his consistent support for quality and practical education.
He added that the advanced equipment would significantly improve training and research across multiple disciplines, including Medicine and Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing, Science, Engineering, and the institution’s 124-unit Industrial Research Park, as well as the 400-bed ABUAD Multi-System Hospital.
According to him, the availability of this equipment would eliminate the need for staff and students to travel abroad for advanced testing or analysis, and would help retain valuable scientific and medical data within the country.
