Presenting cheques to the beneficiaries, Mr Ebri Eteng, the Acting Executive Secretary of the state Scholarship Board, said that the award was the first phase of the programme.
Eteng said the state would continue to promote competition and encourage excellence through such awards to the best students.
He said that the scholarship would run through the duration of the beneficiaries’ university education from 2013 to 2017.
Eteng said the gesture would encourage more students to be creative and hard working in their studies.
He said that the second phase of the disbursement would commence as soon as funds were released by the government.
One of the beneficiaries, Peter Agbor, expressed happiness over the award and thanked the state government for the gesture.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Gov. Liyel Imoke had promised members of the Children`s Parliament scholarships during the celebration of the Day of the African Child in 2009.
We however, learnt that the delay in the take-off of the scholarship scheme was caused by the inability of many of the students to gain university admission.