Seven Nigerian undergraduates will each receive N5m at the maiden Academic Excellence Recognition Award organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Rite Foods Limited.
The award ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Lagos, will honour students who recorded outstanding performances in the 2025 admission exercise.
The recipients were selected based on their results in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and ..-UTME or institutional screening conducted by their universities.
According to a statement signed by JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, the awardees emerged through a merit-based selection process coordinated by the board.
Six recipients represent Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, while the seventh award goes to the highest-performing admitted candidate living with a disability.
The University of Lagos produced two winners, including the recipient in the disability category.
Other winning institutions are the University of Uyo for the South-South zone, the Federal University of Technology, Owerri for the South-East, the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia for the North-West, the University of Maiduguri for the North-East and the Federal University of Technology, Minna for the North-Central.
JAMB said the award was introduced with Rite Foods to recognise academic achievement and reward students with exceptional admission performance.
The ceremony is expected to attract more than 300 guests from the education sector, government, academia and the private sector.
Those expected at the event include the Minister of Education, JAMB Registrar Prof Is-haq Oloyede, vice chancellors of the winning universities, heads of regulatory agencies including the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education, among others.
