Nollywood star Emeka Ike will host the third edition of the National Automation Prize (NAP 2026), one of Nigeria's biggest engineering and technology competitions, with more than ₦50 million in prizes on the line. Advanxis Technologies & Process Automation Ltd announced the news on October 26, 2026, according to Vanguard.
For a country that has exported Afrobeats and Nollywood to the world, this is the next frontier: exporting Nigerian-made engineering. And the man carrying the microphone is an actor who trained as an engineer before the screen found him.
From the big screen to the engineering stage
Emeka Ike is no stranger to Nigerian audiences. He remains one of the defining faces of Nollywood, and recent appearances, including the film 'Mother's Bargain', which reportedly pulled millions of views, show his pull has not faded, Punch reports. Now he is bringing that star power to a stage where the stars are robots, control systems and homegrown inventions.
“I am an engineer by training, a Nollywood actor by profession and a passionate believer in Nigerian ingenuity. I know what entertainment has done for Nigeria's global reputation, and I believe engineering and technology can do even more for our economic future,” Emeka Ike said.
He did not stop there.
“We have spent decades celebrating talent in music, film and sports. It is time to give our engineers, inventors and technology creators the same national applause. Innovation deserves the spotlight,” he added.
What is NAP 2026 and who can win?
The National Automation Prize is an engineering and technology innovation competition organised by Advanxis Technologies & Process Automation Ltd. This third edition runs under a theme that says everything about its ambition: “Build for Nigeria. Automate for Scale. Compete with the World.”
The competition targets practical solutions for industrial productivity and everyday national challenges across manufacturing, energy, agriculture, water, security and public infrastructure. There are individual and Higher Institution categories, and the stakes are serious: over ₦50 million in cash and prizes, a jump from the millions already awarded in the 2024 and 2025 editions.
The Higher Institution category adds something universities should pay attention to. The top three institutions will receive state-of-the-art digitalised equipment plus training and mentorship. That equipment keeps giving long after the cameras leave, supporting student projects, laboratory teaching and hands-on exposure to industrial systems.
A movement, not just a prize
For Advanxis, the goal is bigger than crowning one winner. The organisers are challenging an assumption that has held Nigeria back for too long: the idea that we must remain primarily a buyer of technology designed elsewhere. The Guardian Nigeria's coverage of the announcement describes NAP 2026 as a fusion of national competition drama and Nigerian problem-solving.
“The National Automation Prize 2026 is more than a competition; it is a movement to discover, celebrate and empower Nigeria's brightest engineering and technology talents. Having Emeka Ike as our host brings a powerful blend of engineering, entertainment and inspiration to our mission of making innovation a national priority,” said Engr. Anthony James, Managing Director of Advanxis Technologies & Process Automation Ltd.
That last line matters. Making innovation a national priority is not a slogan here. It is a sovereignty argument. Every water-treatment controller built in a Nigerian lab, every factory process automated by a Nigerian team, every robot deployed on a Nigerian farm is a rejection of the old pattern: raw materials out, finished technology in, with the value added somewhere else.
Where the next superstar comes from
The next breakthrough could come from a student building a low-cost water-treatment controller, a team automating a factory line, or an independent inventor applying robotics to agriculture. Their work may not start on a red carpet, but its impact can outlast any premiere.
NAP 2026 plans to take those stories to the wider public through reality-television formats, hands-on demonstrations and mentoring, with planned outreach on major national television and cable TV, though specific broadcast arrangements are still subject to confirmation. Previous winners, including Samuel Udofia in 2025 and second runner-up Michael Nwazu, already featured in televised coverage.
The prize also creates a real proposition for universities, polytechnics, research organisations and industry partners: help turn promising prototypes into useful systems, and help the people behind them build careers and companies. Sponsors and manufacturers get direct access to the country's sharpest young technical minds.
A movie star can move an audience. An engineer can move an industry. NAP 2026 is betting that together, those two kinds of influence can change what a whole generation aspires to become.
When Emeka Ike steps onto that stage, the spotlight will not be on celebrity alone. It will be on young Nigerians who can turn an idea into a working system, and a working system into a solution the nation needs. The next Nigerian superstar may not be holding a script or a microphone. They may be holding the blueprint to Nigeria's future.
Participation and partnership details are available through Advanxis, with offices in Victoria Island, Lagos and Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt.
Frequently asked questions
Who is hosting the National Automation Prize 2026?
Nollywood actor and trained engineer Emeka Ike will host NAP 2026, announced by Advanxis Technologies & Process Automation Ltd on October 26, 2026.
How much prize money is at stake?
Over ₦50 million in cash and prizes across individual and Higher Institution categories, up from the millions awarded in the 2024 and 2025 editions.
What does the Higher Institution category win?
The top three institutions receive state-of-the-art digitalised equipment plus training and mentorship, resources that continue to support students after the competition ends.