The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in partnership with Rite Foods Limited, will on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, host its maiden Academic Excellence Recognition Award Ceremony in Lagos to honour seven exceptional Nigerian students who distinguished themselves during the 2025 admission exercise.
According to a statement by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the initiative is aimed at promoting academic excellence, rewarding merit and inspiring young Nigerians to pursue outstanding educational achievement.
Each of the seven award recipients will receive ₦5 million in recognition of their exceptional performance in both the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Post-UTME or institutional screening exercises conducted by their respective universities.
Benjamin said the awardees emerged through a rigorous, transparent and merit based selection process coordinated by JAMB. Six of the recipients represent the country’s six geopolitical zones, while the seventh award recognises the highest performing admitted candidate living with a disability.
The award winning institutions are 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 Federal University of Technology, Minna (North-Central).
The recipient of the award for the highest performing candidate living with a disability is also from the University of Lagos, making the institution the only university with two award recipients in the maiden edition of the programme.
The ceremony is expected to attract more than 300 distinguished guests from across Nigeria’s education sector, government, academia and the corporate community.
Expected dignitaries include the Honourable Minister of Education, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, vice chancellors of the universities attended by the award recipients, vice chancellors of universities in Lagos State, and heads of key education regulatory agencies, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
Also expected at the event are principal officers of tertiary institutions, education stakeholders, development partners, corporate leaders, students and members of the media.
