The Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Scholarship Board has announced that 5,441 students have qualified for the 2025/2026 Yayi Scholarship and Bursary Award following a rigorous screening exercise that saw several applicants disqualified for submitting forged documents and fraudulent records.

The Board disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, signed by its Secretary, Dapo Oke, noting that the successful candidates emerged from more than 12,000 applications received for the programme.

Of the 5,441 shortlisted students, 1,735 qualified for the scholarship award, while 3,706 were selected for the bursary scheme. Bursary beneficiaries include 2,026 students from Ogun West Senatorial District, 946 from Ogun Central and 734 from Ogun East.

A breakdown of Ogun West bursary beneficiaries shows Ado Odo/Ota produced 308 successful candidates, Imeko Afon 302, Ipokia 500, Yewa North 465 and Yewa South 451.

For the scholarship category, Ado Odo/Ota recorded 425 beneficiaries, Imeko Afon 186, Ipokia 493, Yewa North 361 and Yewa South 270.

The Board revealed that several applications were rejected after irregularities were detected during the verification process. "The Board discovered various irregularities and malpractices among applicants, including a wide range of applications from sandwich/part-time students and students from private institutions not covered by the award's operational regulations. A significant number of applicants submitted fake documents, including forged academic records, unverified transcripts, and results without institutional stamps. Many candidates had already graduated from their institutions, and some used fake local government identification certificates, leading to their disqualification," the statement read.

Candidates enrolled in sandwich or part time programmes, as well as students of private institutions not covered by the scholarship's operational guidelines, were also disqualified.

The Board stated that successful candidates would be invited to an award presentation ceremony on a date to be announced, with further guidelines to be communicated to facilitate the collection of the awards.

It congratulated the shortlisted beneficiaries and commended Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola for sustaining the initiative, describing it as a significant intervention aimed at supporting students across Ogun State.