The Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Suleja Region, Niger State, has honoured its best-performing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates with cash awards to encourage academic excellence among its youths.
The Regional Overseer, Pastor Samuel Ndagi, presented the awards on Sunday in Suleja under the Deeper Life Schools Outreach (DLSO) programme.
Miss Faith Emmanuel, who scored 279 in the UTME, emerged as the top performer and received ₦100,000. She was followed by Miss Deborah Emmanuel with 275 points, who got ₦70,000, while Miss Favour Ussaini, who scored 268, received ₦50,000.
Pastor Ndagi said the initiative aims to reward hard work and inspire other young people in the church to strive for excellence in their academic pursuits.
“The purpose of this award is to stir up our youths to perform at their best and to discourage laziness,” he said. “Deeper Life is not only concerned about the spiritual welfare of its members but also their academic and moral growth.”
He prayed for the awardees and urged them to continue to excel in all their endeavours.
Similarly, the Regional Youth and DLSO Coordinator, Mr. Favour Amakor, noted that the award scheme, introduced in 2023, sets a performance benchmark of 250 in the UTME — a threshold the church plans to raise to 280 in 2026.
“We started this reward system after reviewing the academic performance of our youths,” he said. “Each year, we have seen steady improvement. Last year’s results surpassed previous years, and this year’s scores are the highest so far. We believe next year will be even better.”
According to him, the programme has so far recognized seven students — one in 2023, three in 2024, and another three in 2025.
The top awardee, Miss Faith Emmanuel, was represented by her father, Mr. Emmanuel Bassey, as she has already resumed studies in Criminology and Security at a private university in Minna.
The first runner-up, Miss Deborah Emmanuel, expressed gratitude for the church’s support, saying the reward would motivate her to strive for greater achievements.
“I’m grateful for this award by Deeper Life,” she said. “I plan to use part of the money to learn a skill that will be useful to me in the future. It’s a big encouragement to study harder.”
Also, Miss Favour Ussaini, who gained admission to the University of Benin to study Medical Microbiology, said she was proud to be among the top three.
“I thank the church for this gesture. I’ll use part of the money for my school expenses,” she said. “I want to encourage other youths to work hard so they can also be rewarded.”
