According to checks conducted by DAILY POST, Nigerian scientists and researchers were not successful in receiving the N36 million award that the Federal Government was offering for finding a cure for COVID-19 and Lassa fever.
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the then-Minister of Science and Technology (now the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology), announced the prize on February 13, 2020.
Nevertheless, investigations conducted by DAILY POST showed that no one had been able to collect the cash award as of Tuesday, November 21, 2023, which is more than three years later.
“I challenge all Nigerian scientists to go out and find cures for coronavirus and Lassa fever,” Onu had declared when announcing the monetary award. The prize for any scientist who can accomplish this is N36 million.