Riding on UNESCO’s International Literacy Day, marked September 8 annually, Nigeria’s telecom provider and youth-friendly brand, 9mobile, has announced the introduction of an essay competition for senior secondary school students in the country beginning with Abuja. The telco announced the competition at a media conference to kick off the competition’s call for entries.
Speaking on the rationale behind the initiative, the executive director, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile, Abdulrahman Ado, represented by the PR lead, 9mobile, Chineze Amanfo, reiterated the company’s commitment in contributing and strengthening the education sector in the country. She said, “At 9mobile, we understand that young people are the bedrock of change, and it is imperative to support them when it comes to cultivating values that promote environmental sustainability. These values will shape their behavior and help to change society for the better. This year’s essay competition is exclusive to Senior Secondary School students in FCT, Abuja in collaboration with the FCT Education Secretariat.
“In coming up with this initiative, we have carefully constituted a team of reputable panel of Judges with impeccable track record and qualifications who have designed judging criteria to evaluate entries such that only the best emerges as overall winner,” Amanfo added.
Speaking further on the mode of entry and submission deadline, Amanfo emphasised that entry is free and that the call for entries will last for two weeks to enable students to submit their entries. The submission deadline will be September 22, 2022, and judging will commence thereafter.
The director of admin & finance, education secretariat, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Mallam Leramoh Abdulrazaq, on behalf of the secretary for education, Hon. Sani Dahir El-katuzu, lauded 9mobile for the well-thought-out initiative and expressed the willingness to collaborate and provide the necessary support to ensure the success of the essay competition in FCT, Abuja. He underscored the importance of improving the writing skills of students and called on other brands to emulate the good work 9mobile is doing.
A member of the panels of judges, Johnson Abbaly, who spoke on behalf of the other judges said, “We have been fully briefed and we will justify the confidence reposed in us by doing a thorough job that will be seen by all to be transparent and fair to all participants.”
He emphasized that only one entry per school will be accepted.
“All entries will be sent online and the top 10 entries will be shortlisted, thereafter there will be a virtual engagement with the short-listed candidates by the judges to enable the contestants to defend their entries. Announcement of the winners will be made on September 30, 2022, and winners will be presented with their prizes at the 9mobile regional office in Abuja,” Abbaly added.
