It was a great delight for 16-year-old Joy Abahi Amuh of St. Paul Secondary School, Otukpo, Benue State, who was handed a prize of N500,000 for emerging the best graduating (of Benue State origin) in last year’s West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The ceremony, which held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, was part of the sixth Annual Literacy Project organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation, Eunice Spring of Life Foundation (ESLF), in partnership with Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC).
BIPC Group Managing Director Alex Adum noted that it would aid her educational pursuit temporarily truncated by lack of funds.
Adum stressed the need to handsomely reward sterling academic feats instead of focussing on persons in the enter tainment industry alone.
Benue State Governor’s wife and founder of ESLF, Eunice Ortom, congratulated the awardee and urged other girls to emulate her remarkable achievement.
Amuh expressed joy and profound gratitude to BIPC and ESLF for their kind gesture which, she said, would help nurture her dreams.
Principal of her school, Mr. Peter Emaikwu noted that she was a hardworking, dedicated and focused student who deserved the award.
Although she graduated with an excellent result, she was unable to register for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) due to lack of funds.
The 16-year-old teaches at a nursery and primary school in Otukpo where she had tried to save money to further studies.