The Alex Otti Foundation on Saturday shortlisted 58 students out of about 700 from public tertiary institutions across the country who applied for its 2021 undergraduate scholarship awards.
The foundation’s Execution Director, Mr Chinedu Ekeke, told newsmen in Umuahia that the final selection committee would make the last decision.
According to him, the committee will determine among those shortlisted, those who will join the existing pool of beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme.
He said that the first selection was done by the foundation’s foreign consultants who shortlisted the 58 candidates, having passed the written test.
Ekeke said there was no particular figure for the winners, saying that as many as those who meet the foundation’s cut-off mark would be selected.
“Last year, we selected 32 out of the 52 candidates who were shortlisted,” he said.
The executive director said that the winners would be notified after one week, adding the selection process would be  based on merit.
Ekeke said that the candidates for the scholarship must be in second year in any of the public universities, polytechnics or monotechnics in the country.
According to him, the candidate must have a Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA) of at least 3.5 for universities or 2.5 for polytechnics/monotechnics.
He also said the candidate must either be an indigene of Abia, resident or his or her parents reside in the state.
He said winners would receive annual one-off funding from their selection year until the duration of their programmes, irrespective of the course of study.
According to Ekeke, the scholarship is one of the programmes of the foundation, a non-profit organisation that extends opportunities for education and entrepreneurship to indigent members of the society.
He said that the foundation, which was founded by Dr Alex Otti, a financial expert and former bank chief executive, had been at the forefront of advancing opportunities to the most deserving.
The Tide reports that the 2021 final selection committee is chaired by a media expert, Mr Chude Jideonwo.
Other members of the committee were: Blossom Ozurumba, an innovation adviser and strategic partnership expert, and Jude Egba, a Senior Editor with Pulse Nigeria.