Etisalat rewards 72 students for academic excellence

Acclaimed most innovative telecommunications company in Nigeria, Etisalat, celebrated academic excellence in the northern part of the country by rewarding 72 university undergraduates through its education empowerment scheme, the Etisalat Merit Awards at a presentation ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja last weekend. 

The award scheme currently in its 5^th year is a reaffirmation of the company’s commitment to impacting and improving the quality of education in Nigeria.

At the 2013 Annual Merit Awards, deserving undergraduates and their institutions received cash rewards for academic excellence and for procurement of educational materials respectively. 

The awardees were students of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science and Management courses in their second and third year of study of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, University of Abuja, Bayero University, Kano; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Benue State University, Makurdi; Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto; and Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Kebbi.

In his speech, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans stressed the importance of education to a nation and pointed out that statistics has revealed that out of the 41 per cent of Nigerian citizens that are youths, only a fraction are students. He stressed that education remains a powerful tool for change that could facilitate the economic advancement of any nation.

“Dynamic economies that have emerged in the last fifty years have done so on the back of heavy investment in education. It is with this in mind that we at Etisalat have committed to supporting the government in improving the educational system in Nigeria,” he said.

“The essence of the Merit Awards is to offer the best university students in partner institutions a grant towards the successful completion of their courses of study; taking care of their financial burden and enabling them to concentrate on their programs, thereby achieving excellence,” said Evans who was represented at the event by the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko.

(L-R): Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko;

Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP),

Dr. Umar Bindir; Deputy, Dean of Students, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr. Yusuf Ahmed;

and Director, Brands and Communications, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Enitan Denloye at the 2013

Etisalat Merit Awards Abuja held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

According to him, over 800 scholarships have been awarded under the Merit Awards Scheme, as the company continues to build on its core CSR platform of empowering Nigerian youths to obtain qualitative education. “It is not only about establishing ourselves as a business, we also believe in giving back to the society we operate in and we believe that we are able to do this through the Merit Awards”, he added.

One of the awardees, a 200 level Management Sciences student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Miss Abdullahi Binta Fulani, visibly elated at her grant said she is more motivated to work harder and urged other students to study hard so they can benefit from the Award. She thanked Etisalat and commended the company on its interest in the Nigerian youth, particularly in the area of education.

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