The management of Lekki Port, promoters of Lekki Deep Seaport, and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has awarded a N20 million scholarships to 100 indigent students from host communities under the Lekki Port Educational Support Programme.

Held at Lekki Port, Ibeju-Lekki, each student was awarded N200,000 for their academic performance.

The programme is part of the organisation’s efforts to support host communities and provide students with opportunities to pursue their educational aspirations.

The initiative also recognised two students for their outstanding academic performances, with each receiving extra N500,000 under the Managing Director, NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho’s education support scheme.

The Managing Director, Lekki Port, Wang Qiang, congratulated the beneficiaries on their academic achievements and urged them to remain focused on their studies, describing them as an important part of the country’s future.

He noted that the initiative reflects Lekki Port’s core value of collaboration and acknowledged the support and contributions of host communities to the establishment and growth of the port.

“Collaboration is one of our core values, and it is because of the community that we have Lekki Port. I congratulate the students because you have done a very good job. You are the future of this country, and I see great potential in you.

‘‘The future of Lekki Port also relies on young people like you, so I encourage you to work hard. We look forward to collaborating with you in the future,” he said. Also speaking, the Port Manager, Nigerian Ports Authority, Emmanuel Anda, explained that the collaboration with Lekki Port had expanded the Authority’s existing educational support efforts, enabling both organisations to extend scholarship opportunities to students from their host communities. He noted that the partnership is aimed at supporting the beneficiaries in pursuing their education and achieving academic excellence, while expressing optimism that the initiative would be sustained and expanded in subsequent years.

“This year, we decided to take it a step further by collaborating with Lekki Deep Seaport to support about 100 students from the host communities in their efforts to pursue their education and excel academically. I can assure you that next year, it will be bigger,” he said. One of the beneficiaries, a 200-level medical student at Lagos State University with a perfect Cumulative Grade Point Average of 5.0 currently, Taiwo Raheemat, expressed appreciation to both organisations for the scholarship opportunity, noting that the support would help ease the financial burden of their education and encourage them to remain focused on their academic goals.

The event was graced by key stakeholders from Lagos Free Zone, Nigerian Ports Authority, Lekki Freeport Terminal, the Nigeria Customs Service, Department of State Security, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Nigerian Navy FOB Lekki, the Nigerian Police, Lekki Port, Port Health, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria among others. (The Nation)