BATN splashes agric scholarships on varsity undergraduates
The company’s Area Operations Director, Mr. Hugo Norman, made the assertion on the occasion of the 7th annual BATN Scholarship Award Ceremony held at the organisation’s premises in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, during which scholarships were splashed on ten undergraduates currently pursuing agriculture in various universities in the country. Mr Norman maintained that the importance […]
The company’s Area Operations Director, Mr. Hugo Norman, made the assertion on the occasion of the 7th annual BATN Scholarship Award Ceremony held at the organisation’s premises in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, during which scholarships were splashed on ten undergraduates currently pursuing agriculture in various universities in the country.
Mr Norman maintained that the importance of industrial food production cannot be over-emphasized hence the need to further develop agriculture in Nigeria. In the same vein, he said, the organisation recognised that education is critical to the development of any country.
“By providing financial support to students of agriculture, BATN believe that we are achieving two important goals at the same time,” the Area Operations Director said.
“This is why BAT Nigeria has selected agricultural education as a platform for our contribution to driving economic growth in Nigeria,” he added.
The ten beneficiaries of this year’s BATN Scholarship awards who hail from Abia, Delta, Enugu, Osun, Ogun and Oyo states were drawn from the University of Ibadan; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Benin; and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, among others.
Mr Norman disclosed that the figure brings to 65, the total number of agricultural students in the nation’s universities who have benefited from the scheme since its introduction seven years ago, while all the recipients had been selected after a rigorous selection process.
He remarked that it is the expectation of BATN that the beneficiaries will one day make positive contributions to the development of agriculture in Nigeria.
The Head of Leaf, BAT Iseyin Agronomy, Mr. Thomas Omofoye, while submitting the Scholarship Award Governance Report on the occasion, stated that “when the BAT Nigeria/BATIA scholarship scheme was launched in 2004, it was with the aim of supporting the educational ambitions of the children of British American Tobacco, Iseyin Agronomy-registered tobacco farmers above the age of 18. The following year, in 2005, we responded to the expectations of our stakeholders during an engagement session and expanded eligibility to include students from all over the country.”
Dignitaries at the ceremony included the President of the Nigerian Independent Tobacco Growers Association, Chief Joseph Olaniyonu, representatives of the management of British American Tobacco, Nigeria and BAT Iseyin Agronomy, Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Dr Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, represented by Dr Bello Abiodun, the State Permanent Secretary for Education. Also was the State Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Adebayo Bankole.