Nigeria’s Vice President Commissions $2 Million NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod: A New Era for Africa’s Mineral Economy

The Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Kashim Shettima, represented by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, officially commissioned the NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod on Friday, 8 May 2026.

The landmark event, held at the University Multipurpose Hall, brought together dignitaries from academia, government, traditional institutions, the university community, and members of the diplomatic corps from within and outside Nigeria.

The Mine-Tech UniPod is a specialized innovation hub established by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nasarawa State Government, Tertiary Education Trust Fund,(TETfund) and other critical stakeholders. It is one of seven UniPods being rolled out across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones under the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme, aimed at repositioning universities as engines of industrial growth and enterprise.

Unlike a conventional facility, the NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod integrates the entire mining value chain from exploration and exploitation to processing and value addition. Equipped with over $2 million worth of advanced equipment provided by UNDP, the hub features laboratories for mineral intelligence, materials processing, geo-spatial innovation, and green mining technologies. It also houses prototyping spaces, a technology transfer office, and machinery including CNC routers, 3D printers, soil analyzers, vacuum formers, and packaging machines.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Alausa noted that Nigeria possesses over 44 commercially viable solid minerals valued at more than $1 trillion, yet the sector has remained underdeveloped due to decades of exporting raw materials while importing finished products at significantly higher costs. He stressed that the growing global demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, coltan, tantalite, and rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing presents Nigeria with a timely opportunity to reposition itself within the global value chain.

He further observed that Nasarawa State, with its rich deposits of lithium, tantalite, gemstones, and lead-zinc, is strategically positioned to benefit from this transition.
Dr. Alausa described the UniPod as more than an edifice.

“It is a hub for research, innovation, commercialization, industrialization, technological advancement, and youth empowerment,” he said.

Dr. Alausa reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to connect education with productivity, research commercialization, and economic transformation.

The Executive Governor of Nasarawa State and Visitor to the University, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, thanked UNDP, TETFund, and all partners for collaborating with NSUK. He commended the university management for its dedication to academic excellence and acknowledged President Tinubu’s unwavering support for Nasarawa State and Nigeria at large.

The Governor highlighted the UniPod’s importance for skills acquisition, investment promotion, economic prosperity, and sustainable development. He pledged that the state government would provide a solar power system for the hub and urged miners and students to use the facility effectively and responsibly.

In her welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Professor Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, said the Mine-Tech UniPod signals a new chapter for academic excellence and human capital development at NSUK.

“Through collaborative research, innovation, and strategic economic diversification, NSUK has become an engine room for mining development in Nigeria,” she stated.

She urged students of Geosciences to translate theoretical knowledge into practical applications by processing raw minerals into finished products.

In her special remarks, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie G. Attafuah, explained that the UniPod would leverage NSUK’s expertise to transform the mining industry through innovation and collaboration with the Federal Government, positioning the institution as a global centre of excellence. She noted that the mining sector bridges knowledge and development, industry and academia, by promoting global best practices in mining processes and energy transformation.

Delivering his goodwill message at the event, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFund) Arc. Sonny S.T. Echono, said the hub represents a new phase in educational advancement and would serve as a platform for skills acquisition, innovation, and job creation. He encouraged young Nigerians to seize the opportunity to create, innovate, and transform industries and academia in line with global best practices.

According to Arc. Echono, the national targets for the programme are ambitious: positioning Nasarawa and Nigeria as Africa’s hub for green Mine-Tech innovation, creating over 5,000 green jobs by 2028, developing digital traceability systems for mineral governance, and expanding the innovation ecosystem to at least 20 public universities nationwide.

The event concluded with the formal unveiling of the Mine-Tech UniPod by the Vice President’s representative alongside other dignitaries, followed by a guided tour of the facility and group photographs to commemorate the historic occasion.