The development comes days after Ejikeme Mmesoma, a student of the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, confirmed that she forged her UTME scores.
Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has awarded a scholarship to Nkechinyere Umeh, the top scorer in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a statement on Monday evening by his spokesperson, Christian Aburime, Mr Soludo congratulated Miss Umeh, an indigene of Anambra State, for making the state "proud with her exceptional performance" in the UTME.
Miss Umeh, a student of Deeper Life High School, Mowe, Ogun State, emerged as the UTME top scorer with 360.
The 16-year-old hails from Amichi, a community in Nnewi South Local government Area of Anambra State.
The development comes days after Ejikeme Mmesoma, a student of the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, confirmed that she forged her UTME scores.
Forging UTME Result
Miss Mmesoma had, in May, claimed to be the top scorer in the 2023 UTME with 362.
The 'feat' fetched her accolades from Nigerians on social media, including the Anambra State Government.
But the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) accused the candidate of manipulating her UTME results and inflating the scores from 249 to 362. The candidate insisted that the 362 was the score she received both on the JAMB website and in the SMS sent to her by the board.
The examination body subsequently announced it would withdraw the candidate's original UTME result and barred her from taking the test for the next three year
But Miss Mmesoma, the candidate, in a viral video on 3 July, insisted that the controversial score of 362 claimed by her was printed from the JAMB website, and the examination body's accusation had left her traumatised.
Several Nigerians called for an "independent" investigation into the controversy.
Consequently, the Anambra State Government, two weeks ago, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.
Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the eight-member panel, on Friday, confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by JAMB.
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According to the eight-page report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.
The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, which had earlier awarded her a scholarship, announced its withdrawal, explaining that the manipulation of the result by the candidate "stands in direct contravention of the values" of the company.
Her father, Romanus Ejikeme Ejikeme, would later apologise to the JAMB and Nigerians, saying his daughter lied to him.
Scholarship
Mr Soludo described the scholarship to Miss Umeh as "well-deserved", pointing out that the gesture would enable the candidate to study any course of her choice at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra State.
COOU is a public university owned by the Anambra State Government.
"The scholarship will not only serve as a token of the state government's appreciation for her, " but also give her "the opportunity to pursue her dreams and contribute to the development of the state in the future," the governor said in the statement.
He urged other young Anambra students within the state and across Nigeria to take inspiration from Miss Umeh's outstanding performance and take advantage of the improved conducive learning environment in the state to strive for excellence.
