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 in Abuja last week.

The company said the award scheme currently in its 5th year, was a reaffirmation its 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.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans emphasised the importance of education to a nation, and pointed out that statistics has revealed that out of the 41 percent 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.

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.