The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has flagged off the 2022 Cycle of the Nigeria Prize for Science with the appointment of Prof. Barth Nnaji, a renowned scientist and former Minister of Power, as the chairperson of the Advisory Board.
In a statement issued by its General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr Andy Odeh, on Thursday, NLNG explained that Nnaji succeeds Professor Emeritus, Akpoveta Susu, a former science prize winner, who was appointed board chairman in 2016 and retired from the board in 2022
According to him, the company also named Prof. Yusuf Abubakar as a member in the newly reconstituted three-person board, which will serve to implement wide-sweeping reforms that will re-position the prize as one of the top science prizes in the world.
He said Abubakar joins Dr Nike Akande, a two-time minister and former President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who remains on the board.
Odeh said: “The newly constituted Board has assumed duties in preparations for the 2022 cycle of the Prize.
“The Board approved ‘Innovations in Sustainable Food Security’ as the theme for the scientific competition.
“Nnaji is a Nigerian scientist and a professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. He was a director of the US National Science Foundation Centre for e-Design, University of Pittsburgh.
He served in different advisory roles to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before being appointed a Minister for Science and Technology in 1993 and later Minister for Power in 2011.
“He is also the founder of the first independent power transmission station in Nigeria.”
Odeh also expressed appreciation to Susu for his selfless service to the prize.
He said Susu assumed leadership at a critical time for the prize when it was being restructured, overseeing the management of change and charting a new trajectory for competition.
Odeh stated that the changes made to the Advisory Board would consolidate the achievements made by the former Board chairman.
He expressed NLNG’s support for the board’s mandate of making the Prize stronger and more prestigious in the world.
Accepting the appointment, Nnaji stated that he would support the Prize to create an oasis of world standard inspiration for basic science research that will impact the lives of Nigerians.
