The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has announced the appointment of renowned scientist and former minister of power Prof. Barth Nnaji as the chairman of the advisory board for the 2022 cycle of the Nigeria Prize for Science.
Nnaji succeeds Prof. Emeritus Akpoveta Susu, a former science prize winner who retired from the board in 2022. Susu was appointed board chairman in 2016.
The company also named Prof. Yusuf Abubakar as a member of 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.
Abubakar joins Nike Akande, a two-time minister and former president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who remains on the board.
The NLNG said the newly constituted board has assumed duties in preparations for the 2022 cycle of the prize which has the theme “Innovations in Sustainable Food Security” with the prize money award of $100,000.
Accepting the appointment, Nnaji, who is also a former minister for science and technology, 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.
Commenting on the reconstitution of the advisory board, NLNG’s general manager for external relations and sustainable development, Andy Odeh, 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.
He 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.
