UBA Foundation Awards N40.5 Million Scholarships to Five Winners of Essay Contest
Funmi Ogundare UBA Foundation yesterday rewarded five out of the 20 finalists of its National Essay Competition (NEC), designed to encourage students to think critically about national and continental challenges,
The UBA Foundation recently presented N40.5 million in scholarships to the five winners of its 2026 National Essay Competition (NEC). The competition, which attracted over 13,000 entries from senior secondary school students nationwide, challenged participants to critically examine Nigeria's food security issues. Winners included Khaira Ojima Bala from Metro International School in Abuja, who received a N15 million scholarship.
Otobong Ubong from Akwa Ibom State and Flourish Ndamzi from Rivers State each took home N10 million and N7.5 million scholarships, respectively. Udo God's Favour Ezekiel from Akwa Ibom State and Olivia Anyanwu of Abuja's Coral Impacts International School received N5 million and N3 million in scholarships. The foundation expanded the NEC to include 20 finalists, up from 12 previous years, and increased the number of scholarship recipients from three to five.
UBA Foundation CEO, Bola Atta, emphasized the importance of education as a tool to break the cycle of poverty. The 2026 theme encouraged students to think critically about societal challenges and develop independent perspectives. Atta expressed the foundation's commitment to expanding the competition to 20 African countries over time.
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