BY DAYO ADESULU

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Deepak Singhal has announced his readiness to splash the sum of two million, two hundred and fifty thousand naira (N2.250m) worth of education scholarship for three heroic children that are expected to emerge at 2012 Indomie Independence Day Award for Heroes of Nigeria.

He made this declaration during the national press conference organised to herald the commencement of the search and call for entries for the prestigious award for deserving Nigerians held at Westown Hotel, Opebi  Ikeja, Lagos.

In his welcome address, Singhal noted that the main objective of the award is to identify, recognise and celebrate Nigerian heroic children who have exhibited acts of heroism and bravery at one point or the other.

The MD explained that the award which is the company’s number one corporate social responsibility  vehicle is set up to recognize and reward children between the ages 0 and 15, who have at one time or the other performed an act of bravery to save life or of others at great personal risk to themselves or achieve remarkable feat worthy of recognition.

He said: “Indomie Independence Day Award for Heroes of Nigeria has so far recorded a huge success in the last four editions producing a total of 12 Winners in all whom were rewarded with scholarship prizes of N1 Million, N750,000.000 and N500,000.00 for the first, second and third winners respectively.”

While commending the media for their unalloyed support for the initiative since inception in 2008, Singhal described the media as a strategic partner on the project and solicited their continual support for the 5th edition of the award, not only in providing adequate publicity for the project but also by helping to identify heroic stories in the course of their duties.

Also speaking, the Public Relations Manager of Dufil, Mr Tope Ashiwaju stated that the last four editions of the award have been tremendous as it attracted commendation to the brand and the company by well-meaning individuals and corporate organizations.