Dufil Sustains Programme on Educational Growth

Dufil Prima Foods Plc., makers of Indomie Noodles, has reiterated its commitment to educational growth in Nigeria as it continued its annual postgraduate students empowerment.

The initiative which has been running for over eight years was intended to boost nutrition education and research as well as strengthen the nations’ manpower in the food sector.

For this year, no fewer than 12 post-graduate students drawn from various universities across the country currently undergoing a master’s degree in Nutrition and related studies for 2017/2018 academic session were supported with N450,000 each which is expected to cover their tuition, research grant and stipend for the duration of the programme.

Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony which held at the company’s corporate headquarters in Lagos, the Group Public Relations and Events Manager of the company, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, stressed that the company would sustain and improve on the initiative being the first and only corporate organisation sponsoring postgraduate nutrition education in the country.

Recognising that the sponsored field was relevant to the company, Ashiwaju stated that the company’s decision to invest in the initiative was to further assist in improving the health of Nigerians since malnutrition and poor diets were major causes of diseases and illnesses, as well as meet the organisation’s need for well-trained nutritionists and dieticians being a major player in the sector that is health friendly.

“It is our joy that in the nearest future, Nigeria can boast of quality manpower in the area of nutrition and dietetics as very few universities offer nutrition at the first degree and master’s level at the moment, a situation which has led to shortage of manpower in this sector. We want to re-write the nutrition template of our dear country, and Dufil as a brand is committed to raising seasoned professionals in this field. This will in the nearest future place us side by side with developed nations in this regard,” he said.

Dufil spokeperson also applauded the coordinator of the scholarship scheme, Professor Babatunde Oguntona, for his transparency in handling the exercise since inception.

Responding, Oguntona, who is also a lecturer at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, commended the company for keeping the initiative alive for nine years noting that the gesture had enhanced performance in the field.

Brand Manager of Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Onome Asagbra said: “The scheme is a noble course the brand is pleased to be associated with as one of our ways of giving back to the society and contributing towards producing highly-trained nutritionists that would drive development in the food sector.”

He urged awardees to remain focused and committed to their studies.

The 12 beneficiaries drawn from a pool of numerous entries across the six geo-political zones of the country included: Abdulahi Abubakar (Kano), Adedipe Elisabeth (Ondo), Awosanya Mubarakat (Ogun), Awotunya Ebunoluwa (Ekiti), Babatunde Odunayo Esther (Oyo), Iheme Gideon Onyedikachi (Abia) and Iyekekpolor Christiana Imuetinyan (Edo).