The Nigerian National Merit Award has stated that the 32 nominees for the Nigerian National Order of Merit’s 2022 edition were not qualified.
The quasi-academic agency said the nominees did not pass the prerequisite exam.
A total of 32 nominations/applications for the award were received, according to Prof. Shakarau Aku, Chairman of the NNMA Governing Board, who spoke to the media in Abuja.
He said there were 14 applicants in the humanities, nine in medicine, five in engineering and technology, and four in the sciences.
Aku said, “The nominations went through the standard assessment process. However, after going through the rigorous process of assessment exercise, none was adjudged to have merited the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award for this year 2022. So, in this year’s exercise, no winner emerged.”
The NNMA was established by Act No. 53 of 1979 and amended by Act No. 96 of 1992, now LFN 122 of 2004.
The NNMA as an agency is charged with selecting all intellectual and creative contributions in all areas of human endeavour and rewarding unique contributions by awarding the NNOM.
Aku said, “The forum is organised to deliberate on salient issues of national interest, allowing the laureates to channel their views into policymaking and thus contribute to national discourse.
“This year’s Forum, the 13th Forum, is scheduled to hold from Tuesday, December 6 through Wednesday, December 7, 2022, from 9am to 5pm daily at the Merit House, Complex, Maitama, Abuja.”