On February 2, 2026, Mr. Peng Yizhong, Chairman of shanghai Jianhang, led a business delegation to visit IGBINEDION UNIVERSITY OKADA (IUO) in Nigeria. Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu EZEMONYE, PhD, FAS, FNES, FSFSN, FWASOT, Vice-Chancellor of the university, warmly received the delegation. The visit aimed to promote strategic cooperation between the two sides in the fields of higher education and health technology innovation.

Founded in 1999, IUO is the first governmentlicensed private university in Nigeria, ranking among the top in the country in scale. It boasts outstanding strengths in medicine, pharmacy, life sciences and other disciplines, with its affiliated teaching hospital providing important support for medical education and research.

During the visit, Vice-Chancellor Ezemonye accompanied the delegation on a tour of the campus and research facilities, and introduced the university’s achievements in ecotoxicology, clinical medicine and other fields. He expressed willingness to carry out practical cooperation with international partners.

Chairman Peng Yizhong thanked the university for the warm reception and spoke highly of its educational achievements. He pointed out that China Nigeria cooperation in health and education enjoys broad prospects, and put forward three major cooperation directions:Jointly build a biomedical research center focusing on cuttingedge fields such as stem cells;Promote industry-university-research collaborative innovation to boost the development of the health industry;Strengthen joint talent training and academic exchanges to consolidate the talent foundation for cooperation.

Vice Chancellor Ezemonye responded positively to the cooperation proposals and was ready to work with our side to advance the implementation of cooperation. The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to refine cooperation details and achieve mutual benefit and winwin results at an early date.

This visit marks a solid step forward in bilateral cooperation in science, education and health innovation, laying a foundation for improving the livelihood and wellbeing of the two peoples and deepening ChinaNigeria scientific, technological and people to people exchanges.