From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has pd a N500 million Mega Award from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), as the overall winner of the 2025 5th National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Awards (NATAP-M).
The University secured the monetary prize for the combined admission years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
ABU became the overall winner after emerging as the best institution with an aggregate of 14 points in the overall category, which includes all five elements of the Mega Award.
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmed, presented a N500 million cheque and a certificate of award to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adamu Ahmed.
The minister was assisted in the presentation by the Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, and other senior staff members of the Board.
Two members of the Governing Council of Ahmadu Bello University – Prof Mato D Dogara and Dr Claris Ujah – attended the significant ceremony.
The Registrar of Ahmadu Bello University, Malam Rabiu Samaila, and the University’s Admissions Officer, Malam Mohammed Aminu Garba, accompanied the Vice-Chancellor.
Speaking at the event, the JAMB Registrar, Prof Oloyede, explained that the award was introduced to foster national diversity in candidate admission and to promote internationalisation among tertiary institutions.
He added that the award aims to encourage national unity by ensuring institutions admit candidates from all states of the federation, as well as to foster healthy competition among tertiary institutions.
The JAMB Registrar further stated that the award seeks to promote transparency in the admission process nationwide and to address gender inequality by motivating more females to pursue tertiary education.
Upon receiving the award, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ahmed, extended his sincere gratitude to JAMB, emphasising that the university will continue its efforts to improve Nigeria’s standing in global university rankings.
He also appreciated the institution’s Governing Council, Senate, and alumni for helping the university achieve this outstanding achievement.
