The 2025 edition of the Nigeria Prize for Science, Africa’s most prestigious scientific award sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited, NLNG, ended without a winner, as judges and the Advisory Board ruled that none of the 112 entries received met the rigorous standards set for the award.
At a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, Chairman of the Advisory Board, Professor Bart Nnaji, said the decision to withhold the award was necessary to preserve the prize’s credibility.
According to him, although many entries showed commendable effort, but gaps remained in practicality, operability, and field testing. The verdict safeguards the integrity of the process.
Prof. Nnaji noted that out of the 112 entries submitted for this year’s theme: Innovations in ICT, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies for Development, 54 were valid and progressed for adjudication.
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A panel of distinguished judges shortlisted 10 entries out of the 54 and further narrowed them down to the top four before the final decision was reached
“Since its inception in 2004, the Nigeria Prize for Science worth $100,000 has recognized groundbreaking research addressing Nigeria’s developmental challenges.
“But despite the impressive turnout, the judges identified serious gaps.
According to Professor Nnaji, a globally renowned scientist and former Minister of Power, the entries fell short in three key areas:
The practicality of the innovations in solving Nigeria-specific problems.
Clarity on the operability of the technologies.
Evidence of robust field testing.
The Professor explained that the decision to declare no winner was not taken lightly, and insists “It preserves the credibility of the selection process and upholds the reputation of the Nigeria Prize for Science,”
In her opening remarks, Dr. Sophia Horsfall, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, praised the breadth of submissions and reaffirmed NLNG’s commitment to advancing science in Nigeria.
“The true victory lies not only in winning, but in the collective advancement of science and technology for national development,”
While also drawing inspiration from Rwanda’s digital transformation journey and Nigeria’s emergence as home to the highest percentage of unicorn tech companies in Africa, underscoring the nation’s vast potential if properly harnessed, she highlighted how digital technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping societies globally, stressing that Nigeria can play a leading role in shaping innovation across the continent. According to her, the 2025 theme was carefully chosen to reflect urgent national and global realities.
She concluded: “Today marks the culmination of a journey of discovery and innovation. This event celebrates not just a winner, but all the brilliant minds who submitted their work. The true victory is in the collective advancement of science and technology for Nigeria’s development.
The Advisory Board members present included Professor Yusuf Abubakar, a scholar of animal breeding and quantitative genetics; Chief (Dr.) Mrs. Nike Akande, economist, industrialist and two-time former minister; as well as eminent academics from Nigerian universities.
The board reiterated that the prize is designed not only to reward scientific excellence but also to ensure that winning innovations are practical, scalable, and impactful to Nigeria’s development.
The members praised NLNG for its consistent sponsorship despite prevailing economic challenges, emphasizing that the company’s in building.
Although no winner emerged in 2025, both the judges and NLNG stressed that the submissions reflected Nigeria’s rich pool of talent and innovation, and urged scientists to return with stronger, field-tested solutions in future editions.
Realnews reports that while there are no winners for this year’s cycle, past winners of the annual award which celebrates outstanding scientific breakthroughs that address real-world problems, especially in Africa have continued to make waves globally.
A Track Record of Global Impact
For instance, in 2023, Professor Hippolite Amadi, a medical technology innovator and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London, won for his solar-powered respiratory devices that save the lives of premature and low-birth-weight babies.
His inventions, including the Bubble PoliteCPAP ventilator and oxygen-delivery systems have slashed the cost of neonatal care in Nigeria from about ₦6.5 million to ₦750,000 per unit. Amadi’s work, tested across Nigerian hospitals, is now viewed internationally as a model for low-cost, life-saving technologies in resource-limited settings.
In 2024, a team of scientists; Eni Oko, Olajide Otitoju, and Meihong Wang received the prize for their Process Intensification Technology for Greenhouse Emission Control in Power Generation and Industry for Sustainable Fuel Production (PIC-FUEL).
Based at Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield in the UK, their project has already been tested in the UK and Norway. The innovation offers pathways to decarbonise diesel transport, cut emissions in industry, and deliver cleaner energy solutions, proving the prize’s potential to spotlight ideas of international relevance.
Realnews reports that the Nigeria Prize for Science, alongside its sister prizes in literature and literary criticism, remains NLNG’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative.
A.I