NLNG $100,000 Science Prize: Judges begin deliberations on 49 entries

by EzurikeUgochukwu

As activities for the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas ( NLNG) $100,000 Prize for Science targeted at global food security and sustainability Prize cycle for 2021 gears up, 49 entries have been handed over to the panel of judges.

The revelation was made on Wednesday by the prize award Advisory Board, chaired byProfessor Alfred Akpoveta Susu  at a virtual hand-over ceremony.

Susu stated that owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 last year 2020, which led to the postpondment of the year’s entries themed: “Innovations in Sustainable Food Security” it has now been carried over into the 2021 cycle.

According to Professor Susu, the entries received in 2020 for the theme “Innovations in Sustainable Food Security” were carried over into the 2021 cycle after a decision to postpone the prize due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Expressing her delight over the return of the prize award, NLNG’s General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mrs Eyono Fatayi-Williams, stated that the COVID-19 global pandemic and the accelerated development of vaccines emphasised the need to maximise the utilisation of science in solving human problems..

The Nigerian Prize for Science, Fatayi-Williams said was set up as part of measures to seek solutions to Nigerian problems and development issues in line with NLNG’s vision of helping to build a better Nigeria.

She however stated : “The world has learnt the hard way that science can help us. We are not using up to half of the capacity in the science research and development industry, especially in Nigeria where we are grappling with our educational system.

“Nigerians are intelligent people, and I believe we can be pioneers and we can stand at par with other countries when it comes to scientific endeavours.

“With foresight, we established the prize and in the over challenging years, we modified it and opened it to all irrespective of nationality just to spur science in the country. We have ensured that entries are focussed on solving Nigeria’s problems. It does not matter who finds solutions to the Nigerian problems. All that counts is that it helps to build a better Nigeria, in line with our Company’s vision. We must take action now,” she said.

Receiving the entries, chairman of the panel of judges, Professor Patrick Obi Ngoddy, gave firm assurance that the entries will be painstakingly examined, promising that the panel will deliver on their terms of reference with utmost integrity..

Ngoddy, a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and Institute of Food Technology comes with wealth of experience in food engineering, processing, and agricultural engineering, as a professor of Food Engineering and Processing who has taught and worked in several universities including Michigan State University; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The panel has other personalities as Professor Yusuf Abubakar, a professor of Animal Breeding and Quantitative Genetics, who is also the Coordinator of Agriculture Group, R & D Standing Committee, at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. He is also the President of Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS); Chair of the Board of Trustees, WorldFish; and currently a visiting professor at the University of Abuja.

Also in the panel is Professor Oyebiodun Longe of Animal Science at the University of Ibadan, is the first female Emeritus Professor of Agriculture in Nigeria. She taught Carbohydrate Chemistry Utilization and Energy Metabolism in non-ruminants at the university and rose to become the first female professor of Animal Science in Nigeria. She is a member of many national and international professional bodies, including the British Nutrition Society, Nigerian Society for Animal Production, Third World Organisation of Women in Science, among other

The prize’s Advisory Board also has Professor Michael Adikwu, Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja and also a past winner of the Science Prize; Professor Elijah Mshelia, a nuclear physicist; Professor Barth Nnaji, renowned scientist and former Minister of Power; and Chief Dr. Nike Akande, two-time minister and former President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.