EDITORIAL: Clarity at Last—But Questions Remain on the ₦50 Million First Lady’s Award.
In recent days, the University of Port Harcourt community has witnessed renewed conversations surrounding the ₦50,000,000 donation made by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to support Best Graduating Female Students during the 35th Combined Convocation Ceremony.
This discussion gained momentum following our earlier publication titled:
“A Call For Transparency In The Disbursement Of The ₦50 Million First Lady’s Award To Uniport Best Graduating Female Students.”
Our concerns focused on three key issues:
1. Uneven communication to beneficiaries.
2. The disbursement of only ₦100,000 per student, which mathematically represents only 10% of the total donation even if 50 beneficiaries existed.
3. The absence of an official explanation regarding how the ₦50 million would be administered.
Shortly afterwards, a Best Graduating Female Student from the Department of Geology, Ujah Amarachi, shared her personal experience on LinkedIn. Her post read:
“Uniport has finally given me my cash prize for being a Best Graduating Female Student and I'm so happy.
… I finally received the money
I was paid 100K guys.”
She appreciated the First Lady and added:
“But wait oh!! I just want to ask a question.
1. Do I keep receiving 100k for 10 year.
2. Or this is a one time payment
You won't blame me for asking. The money given was 50Million naira. Not five but fifty
… Let’s be clear: I am grateful. But we all know that if ₦50 million is shared only among Best Graduating Female Students from two convocation sets … the math will not end at ₦100k per person.”
Following this, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, responded in the comment section to clarify the structure of the award:
“Every award instituted for best graduating students is done for 10 years and it’s for best graduating students each session till 10 years. No student takes for two sessions. Next convocation, the best females will receive the award and it continues.”
This appeared to settle earlier uncertainties until further reactions on social media prompted the Vice Chancellor to comment again—this time quite directly:
“Ujah Amarachi will you stop demarketing Uniport? Which complete money are you talking about?”
Here at Unique Stoary, we appreciate the Vice Chancellor for offering clarity on the 10-year structure of the fund. This explanation was necessary, especially considering the scale of the First Lady’s donation and the initial absence of official communication.
However, clarity in funding models should naturally answer basic numerical questions.
Therefore, Unique Stoary respectfully asks just one simple question:
If each student received ₦100,000, does this mean there were 50 eligible Best Graduating Female Students?
- If yes — that resolves the matter.
- If no — then how exactly was the disbursement structure determined, and what formula guided the allocation?
Given that the First Lady’s gesture was intended to encourage and reward academic excellence, beneficiaries and the public should be able to understand how the funds are spread, the number of recipients each year, and the criteria applied.
Transparency is not antagonism.
Accountability is not demarketing.
Asking respectful questions strengthens trust, not weakens it.
We remain committed to promoting clarity, fairness, and integrity in reporting matters that affect students and the academic community.
Check comment section for screenshots.
_____________________________________________
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https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAYOmR05MUbjMcimM00
_____________________________________________
#UniqueStoary #Uniport #ABetterUniport #Editorial #UniportNews #Campus #CampusGist #CampusLife #CampusUpdate #UniportStudents #StudentLife
EDITORIAL: Clarity at Last—But Questions Remain on the ₦50 Million First Lady’s Award.
In recent days, the University of Port Harcourt community has witnessed renewed conversations surrounding the ₦50,000,000 donation made by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to support Best Graduating Female Students during the 35th Combined Convocation Ceremony.
This discussion gained momentum following our earlier publication titled:
“A Call For Transparency In The Disbursement Of The ₦50 Million First Lady’s Award To Uniport Best Graduating Female Students.”
Our concerns focused on three key issues:
1. Uneven communication to beneficiaries.
2. The disbursement of only ₦100,000 per student, which mathematically represents only 10% of the total donation even if 50 beneficiaries existed.
3. The absence of an official explanation regarding how the ₦50 million would be administered.
Shortly afterwards, a Best Graduating Female Student from the Department of Geology, Ujah Amarachi, shared her personal experience on LinkedIn. Her post read:
“Uniport has finally given me my cash prize for being a Best Graduating Female Student and I'm so happy.💃💃 … I finally received the money💃💃💃 I was paid 100K guys.”
She appreciated the First Lady and added:
“But wait oh!! I just want to ask a question.
1. Do I keep receiving 100k for 10 year.
2. Or this is a one time payment👀
You won't blame me for asking. The money given was 50Million naira. Not five but fifty😳 … Let’s be clear: I am grateful. But we all know that if ₦50 million is shared only among Best Graduating Female Students from two convocation sets … the math will not end at ₦100k per person.”
Following this, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, responded in the comment section to clarify the structure of the award:
“Every award instituted for best graduating students is done for 10 years and it’s for best graduating students each session till 10 years. No student takes for two sessions. Next convocation, the best females will receive the award and it continues.”
This appeared to settle earlier uncertainties until further reactions on social media prompted the Vice Chancellor to comment again—this time quite directly:
“Ujah Amarachi will you stop demarketing Uniport? Which complete money are you talking about?”
Here at Unique Stoary, we appreciate the Vice Chancellor for offering clarity on the 10-year structure of the fund. This explanation was necessary, especially considering the scale of the First Lady’s donation and the initial absence of official communication.
However, clarity in funding models should naturally answer basic numerical questions.
Therefore, Unique Stoary respectfully asks just one simple question:
If each student received ₦100,000, does this mean there were 50 eligible Best Graduating Female Students?
- If yes — that resolves the matter.
- If no — then how exactly was the disbursement structure determined, and what formula guided the allocation?
Given that the First Lady’s gesture was intended to encourage and reward academic excellence, beneficiaries and the public should be able to understand how the funds are spread, the number of recipients each year, and the criteria applied.
Transparency is not antagonism.
Accountability is not demarketing.
Asking respectful questions strengthens trust, not weakens it.
We remain committed to promoting clarity, fairness, and integrity in reporting matters that affect students and the academic community.
▪️▪️Check comment section for screenshots.
_____________________________________________
We have a WhatsApp channel. Do well to follow for exclusive offers, placements and real time updates;
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAYOmR05MUbjMcimM00
_____________________________________________
#UniqueStoary #Uniport #ABetterUniport #Editorial #UniportNews #Campus #CampusGist #CampusLife #CampusUpdate #UniportStudents #StudentLife