Two students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) were among seven outstanding undergraduates honoured at the maiden Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards, where beneficiaries shared a total of N35 million in prize money.
The national award, organised by Rite Foods in partnership with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), celebrated the best-performing students admitted during the 2025 admission exercise across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The two UNILAG awardees are Okeke Christian, a Mechanical Engineering student, and Ogunsua-Dixon Tijesuni, who is studying Mass Communication.
Other beneficiaries include 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; and James Victor (Medicine and Surgery), University of Uyo.
Each of the seven students received a cheque of N5 million, 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.
The recipients emerged after a comprehensive assessment of their performance in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), and post-UTME or other institutional screening exercises.
Addressing the awardees, 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.
He added that the Federal Government is committed to building an education system that rewards merit and produces graduates capable of competing globally.
Speaking at the event, Oloyede commended Rite Foods for adopting a selection process that considered candidates’ overall admission performance rather than UTME scores alone.
“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,” he said.
He encouraged the students to remain disciplined in their studies and contribute positively to Nigeria’s development.
Also speaking, Adegunwa announced that Rite Foods would commit at least N35 million every year 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 is designed to support students in public universities while inspiring more young Nigerians to strive for academic excellence.
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