The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in partnership with Rite Foods Limited, will on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, honour seven exceptional Nigerian undergraduates with ₦5 million each at the maiden edition of the Academic Excellence Recognition Award Ceremony in Lagos.
This was made known in a statement signed by Dr Fabian Benjamin, Public Communications Advisor (PCA), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
According to Benjamin, the initiative, sponsored by Rite Foods Limited, is designed to celebrate academic excellence, reward merit and encourage young Nigerians to strive for outstanding educational achievements.
He noted that the beneficiaries distinguished themselves during the 2025 admission exercise through exceptional performances in both the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the post-UTME or institutional screening exercises conducted by their respective universities.
According to JAMB, the awardees emerged through a rigorous, transparent and merit-based selection process.
Six of the recipients represent the country’s six geopolitical zones, while the seventh award is dedicated to the highest-performing admitted candidate living with a disability.
The beneficiaries are drawn from the University of Lagos (South-West), University of Uyo (South-South), Federal University of Technology, Owerri (South-East), Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia (North-West), University of Maiduguri (North-East), and the Federal University of Technology, Minna (North-Central).
The award recipient in the disability category also hails from the University of Lagos, making the institution the only university with two awardees at the inaugural ceremony.
More than 300 distinguished guests from the education sector, government, academia and the corporate community are expected to attend the event.
Among the expected dignitaries are the Honourable Minister of Education, JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Vice-Chancellors of the universities attended by the awardees, Vice-Chancellors of universities in Lagos State, as well as chief executives of key education regulatory agencies, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). Principal officers of tertiary institutions, development partners, corporate leaders, students and members of the media are also expected at the ceremony.
