NLNG declares ‘no winner’ for 2025 The Nigeria Prize for Science

By Prisca Sam-Duru

No victor verdict was today, Wednesday, September 24, 2025, declared by the Advisory Board of the NLNG-sponsored The Nigeria Prize for Science for the 2025 edition, pursuing the judges’ dissatisfaction with the wide prime of entries received.

Now successful its 21st year, the 2025 variation of The Nigeria Prize for Science themed, “Innovations successful ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development,”
opened for entries successful February and drew a full of 112 submissions.

After a precise rigorous adjudication process, 4 finalists emerged, retired of which nary contestant’s submission was worthy the NLNG’s $100,000 currency award.

This 2025 result is not unprecedented. In erstwhile years, successful 2005, 2007, and past during the haitus betwixt 2011 and 2016, and again successful 2021, The Nigeria Prize for Science was not awarded.

Speaking astatine a property briefing successful Lagos, the Chairman of the Advisory Board, Professor Barth Nnaji, explained however aft a rigorous adjudication of the 112 entries submitted this year, nary was recovered suitable for the Prize.

He stated that the decision, though difficult, reinforced the Board’s committedness to upholding the integrity of the enactment process and protecting the estimation of the prestigious The Nigeria Prize for Science.

Prof Nnaji noted that the Prize is not conscionable astir rewarding technological output but safeguarding the values of creativity, originality, and technological rigour that specify genuinely outstanding work.

“To little the barroom would beryllium to betray the spot of the nationalist and diminish the bequest of the Prize itself,” Prof. Nnaji affirmed.

He past commended the courageousness and dedication of each who submitted entries.

Nnaji noted that their efforts reflected subject and a tendency to lend to some nationalist and planetary technological discourse, stressing that excellence was beyond effort, and that it required innovation, mastery of craft, and the quality to permission a lasting people connected quality thought and development.

The Board president further called connected Nigerian scientists, researchers, and innovators to beryllium inspired by the judges’ verdict to bash much and strive higher.

“The Nigeria Prize exists to observe lone the finest achievements, enactment that embodies originality, withstands scrutiny, and elevates technological discourse. Where these qualities are absent, we cannot, successful bully conscience, bestow the Prize,” helium stated.

Prof. Nnaji admonished Nigerian scientists that the precocious barroom acceptable for the Prize should not discourage aboriginal information but alternatively reenforce the information that the Prize volition ne'er compromise connected its standards of technological innovation and excellence.

The Advisory Board besides announced that the taxable for this twelvemonth “Innovations successful ICT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Technologies for Development” volition beryllium repeated for the 2026 edition. The Board stated that the determination was taken to pull a wider spectrum of innovators, peculiarly successful the emerging tract of Artificial Intelligence.

The judges

Furthermore, the Advisory Board unveiled the members of the sheet of judges.

They see Dr. Omobola Johnson, the Chairperson of the Panel of Judges for The Nigeria Prize for Science, a Senior Partner astatine TLcom Capital. Omobola Johnson drives concern and worth instauration successful exertion companies crossed sub-Saharan Africa. She antecedently served arsenic Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology (2011–2015) and spent implicit 25 years astatine Accenture, including 5 years arsenic Country Managing Director.

Prof. Collins Udanor is an Associate Professor of Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) astatine the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Udanor specialises successful information analytics, intelligent cause systems, and multi-agent learning. He leads the High-Performance and Intelligence Computing Group (HiPIC) and has secured aggregate grants from organisations specified arsenic UNESCO-HP, Google, Nvidia, and TETFund.

Prof. Aminu Muhammad Bui is simply a student astatine the Department of Computer Science, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Bui specialises successful artificial intelligence, determination enactment systems, accusation retrieval, diagnostic selection, Hidden Markov Models, and acquisition information mining.

His probe co...