By Our Reporter
The Advisory Board of The Nigeria Prize for Science, sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), has announced that no winner has emerged for the 2025 edition of the $100,000 award.
The decision was made after judges found that none of the 112 entries submitted under the theme “Innovations in ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development” met the standards required.
This is not the first time the prize has produced no winner. Similar outcomes occurred in 2005, 2007, between 2011 and 2016, and again in 2021.
At a press briefing in Lagos, Advisory Board Chairman, Prof. Barth Nnaji, said the outcome underscores the Board’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the Prize.
“To lower the bar would be to betray the trust of the public and diminish the legacy of the Prize itself,” Nnaji said. He encouraged Nigerian scientists to strive for originality, innovation, and excellence.
The Board also announced that the 2025 theme will be retained for the 2026 edition to attract more robust submissions in the fast-growing field of Artificial Intelligence.
The panel of judges for the 2025 edition was chaired by Dr. Omobola Johnson, former Minister of Communication Technology, alongside Prof. Collins Udanor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Prof. Aminu Muhammad Bui of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.