Undergraduate students of the University of Lagos and five other universities on Tuesday emerged winners at the maiden Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards, sharing N35m in prizes.
The awards, organised by Rite Foods in partnership with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, recognised the best-performing matriculating students from the 2025 admission exercise across the country’s six geopolitical zones and the Equal Opportunity Group for Persons with Disabilities.
The beneficiaries are Orzekor Godwin of the Federal University of Technology, Minna; Vincent Daniel of the University of Maiduguri; Luka Miendwas of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia; Joshua Chidiebere of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; James Victor of the University of Uyo; Okeke Christian of the University of Lagos; and Ogunsua-Dixon Tijesuni of the University of Lagos.
The students, who are studying Software Engineering, Medicine and Surgery, Mechanical Engineering and Mass Communication, received N5m each.
Presenting the awards in Lagos, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented by his aide, Dr Ismaila Adiatu, urged the beneficiaries to remain focused and contribute to national development.
He challenged them to become innovators, researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs capable of addressing Nigeria’s developmental challenges.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, commended Rite Foods for adopting a selection process that considered candidates’ overall admission performance, including their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, Senior School Certificate Examination and post-UTME results.
He noted that the initiative was unique because it rewarded students who had successfully secured admission into tertiary institutions rather than candidates with high UTME scores alone.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Rite Foods, Saleem Adegunwa, announced that the company would commit at least N35m annually to sustain the initiative.
According to him, the award is aimed at promoting academic excellence and supporting outstanding students in public universities.
He added that the beneficiaries were selected through a transparent assessment coordinated by JAMB to ensure fairness and credibility.
Adegunwa said the initiative was designed to inspire more young Nigerians to pursue academic excellence and contribute to national development through education.
