TheCable

The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has inaugurated a molecular diagnostic and research laboratory.

The laboratory project was sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

In a statement on Sunday, Kunle Akogun, UNILORIN’s director of corporate affairs, said the facility has obtained the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control’s (NCDC) certification as a public health laboratory (PHL) for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the surveillance of other infectious diseases like poliomyelitis, lassa fever, and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Speaking at the commissioning of the lab last weekend, Suleman Elias Bogoro, executive secretary of TETFund, said the university has produced the most successful TETFund-sponsored researches in the country for several years.

He further described the institution’s College of Health Sciences as one of the best-rated health training institutions in the country, which has some of the best medical personnel that consistently produce problem-solving researches.

“The TETFund boss pointed out that quality of personnel, research infrastructure and relevance of research outcome to the society are the parameters that determine the strength of a university, saying that the University of Ilorin is number one when those parameters are considered,” the statement reads.

“Prof. Bogoro further disclosed that TETFund is working to curb brain drain by providing infrastructure and research facilities to discourage Nigerians from going abroad where those facilities are available.”

He, however, advised tertiary institutions to seek complementary funding for projects, as TETFund is only an intervention agency.