Gov. Soludo gifts NECO best student N500,000

The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has given a cheque of N500,000 as an award to Miss Ifebude Benson, the overall best candidate in the 2023 Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examination, conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO).

The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, presented the award on behalf of the governor to the recipient, who was represented by her father, Mr Ben Benson, on Sunday in Akwa.

Chuma-Udeh said, “The award is the governor’s way of encouraging academic excellence among Anambra pupils and students.

“The state government had made serious investments in state education, all in a bid to bring education in the state at par with what is obtained in developed countries and equip the Anambra child to compete favourably with their peers anywhere.”

The recipient, Ifebude, a native of Ndikelionwu in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, scored A1 in all the nine subjects she took during the examination.

She has since been offered admission at the University of Abuja where she is studying Medicine and Surgery.

Reacting, her father, Benson, thanked Soludo for the award, saying it stands him out as a governor who encourages hard work.

He noted that the award would go a long way in encouraging his child to strive to be her best and portray the state positively.