UNILAG students, others win N35m JAMB-Rite awards

Undergraduate students of Medicine and Surgery and Software Engineering dominated the maiden Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards on Tuesday, claiming six of the seven top honours and sharing N35m in prizes.

The award ceremony, held at the Civic Centre, Lagos, was organised by Rite Foods in partnership with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to recognise the best-performing matriculating students from the 2025 admission exercise across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The seven awardees, comprising one student from each geopolitical zone and one student in the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group for Persons with Disabilities, emerged after an aggregate assessment of their performance in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, Senior School Certificate Examination, and post-UTME or other institutional screening exercises.

The beneficiaries are Orzekor Godwin (Software Engineering), Federal University of Technology, Minna; Vincent Daniel (Medicine and Surgery), University of Maiduguri; Luka Miendwas (Software Engineering), Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia; Joshua Chidiebere (Software Engineering), Federal University of Technology, Owerri; James Victor (Medicine and Surgery), University of Uyo; Okeke Christian (Mechanical Engineering), University of Lagos; and Ogunsua-Dixon Tijesuni (Mass Communication), University of Lagos.

Each of the seven students received a cheque of N5m, presented by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented by his aide, Dr Ismaila Adiatu, alongside the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and the Managing Director of Rite Foods, Saleem Adegunwa.

Addressing the beneficiaries, Alausa urged them to remain focused, disciplined and committed to excellence.

“Be innovators, researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs needed to solve the problems of the nation,” he said.

The minister added that the Federal Government was building an education system that rewards merit and produces graduates capable of competing globally.

He also urged the students to be patriotic and refrain from portraying Nigeria negatively on social media, noting that citizens ultimately reap the consequences of the country’s image.

Speaking, Oloyede commended Rite Foods for adopting a comprehensive selection process that considered candidates’ overall admission performance rather than UTME scores alone.

Oloyede said, “What is unique about Rite Foods’ initiative is that they are celebrating matriculated students. Many people with high UTME scores are never admitted because they do not have the required combination of UTME and SSCE results.

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“It would be embarrassing for JAMB to celebrate someone who would eventually not gain admission. That is what makes this proposal unique and why JAMB is proud to partner with Rite Foods.”

He urged the award recipients to remain disciplined and committed to their studies while contributing to Nigeria’s development.

Also speaking, Adegunwa announced that the company would commit at least N35m annually to reward outstanding matriculating students across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

“In doing so, we are sending a clear message to millions of young Nigerians: excellence matters, hard work pays, and outstanding achievement deserves recognition,” he said.

According to him, the initiative targets students admitted into public universities, where financial support can significantly ease their academic journey.

He explained that the beneficiaries were selected through a “transparent JAMB-led assessment of their WAEC, UTME and post-UTME results to ensure fairness and credibility.”

Adegunwa added that the award was designed not only to celebrate academic excellence but also to inspire future innovators, scientists, professionals and nation-builders.

“The beneficiaries of this programme are not simply award recipients; they are symbols of what is possible when talent meets opportunity. They represent the future of Nigeria we all aspire to build,” he said.

He added, “Education remains one of the most powerful drivers of national development. No nation can rise above the quality of its human capital, and no economy can achieve sustainable growth without investing in the education and empowerment of its youth.”

The event attracted key stakeholders from Nigeria’s education sector.