By Uche Amunike
Shortly after investigations revealed that the 16year old student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, who was earlier believed to be the highest scorer of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), confessed to manipulating her result, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company announced the withdrawal of the Scholarship that was earlier awarded to her by their founder, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, to the tune of N3m on the grounds that the girl, Ejikeme Mmesoma’s JAMB result, was not genuine, as she had already confessed about manipulating it, in order be announced as the student with the best score in the year 2023.
This was disclosed by the Spokesperson of the company, Cornel Osigwe, in a statement signed and released by him, to newsmen, where he explained that Innoson Motors was moved to announce the N3m scholarship award for the best student in order to recognize a supposed exceptional performance, but that realizing that Ejikeme Mmesoma’s result was manipulated was deeply disappointing, as it stands in direct contravention of the values of the company.
Hear him: ‘In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition’, he stated.
According to him, even though withdrawing the scholarship was not an easy decision, considering that it might cause dismay to people like the Anglican Girls Secondary School principal, who supported Mmesoma, it was important to maintain that the integrity of the scholarship program and values of the Innoson company.
He maintained that the Innoson company believed in students who were exceptional, not only academically but also, in the embodiment of the values of honesty, respect for the processes that govern their educational system and transparency.
He also thanked the examination board, Nigerians and the members of the panel set-up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra states for supporting them during the time Mmesoma’s JAMB result scandal lasted.
