How Brilliant Girls Dominate UBA Bank Scholarship for Years

How Brilliant Girls Dominate UBA Bank Scholarship for Years

Ten outstanding female secondary school students have yet again clinched ten of the twelve winner slots at the 2020 annual National Essay Competition organized by the UBA Foundation as a UBA bank scholarship platform.

The UBA Bank scholarship and CSR Education initiative, now in its tenth edition, has been changing lives for a decade as the tertiary education scholarship programme continues to impact the lives of many students and their communities.

For the fourth consecutive year, the females continue to lead the UBA bank scholarship competition year after year with 14 year-old Miss Eshiet Abasiekeme of Bright Stars Model Secondary School from Akwa-Ibom state taking home this year’s first winning prize.

Eshiet received an educational grant of N2,500,000.00 to study in any African university of her choice. She will also be supported throughout her educational career and beyond with constant mentoring part of the UBA bank scholarship program.

Abasiekeme who had joined the virtual event from her base in Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria, could not contain her excitement as she heard the announcement that she had won the first prize of the NEC 2020. “I feel honoured to be the winner of this year’s NEC, and I want to appreciate UBA and UBA Foundation as this will help towards my dream of becoming a lawyer,” she said proudly, expressing that she would like to go to university in Uyo in her home state.

The second prize was awarded to 14 year old Mofoluwake Adesanya of Spring Forte-Lead College Lagos State, who won a N2,000,000 educational grant, whilst the third prize of N1,500,000 went to Abdulganiyy Habeebah, 16 years old. Abdulganiyy attends the International School, University of Lagos.

Eshiet and the 11 other finalists, took home their brand new lap top computers to enable them continue to work competitively in a world that is rapidly becoming fully digitalised.

Congratulating all the winners at the final event of the UBA bank scholarship event, the Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, applauded all the participants for their exceptional brilliance. She explained that the Foundation had taken into consideration the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on lives and incomes across board and had increased the prize money by 33 per cent this year to help cushion any negative or inflationary effects.

Emphasising the driving force behind the annual competition, she said, “We are passionate about the annual NEC because it changes lives and helps to improve the quality of lives of students and their families.

The NEC helps to improve the quality of writing and competitiveness amongst students. We have launched in more African countries this year and would have launched the initiative in 20 countries by the end of 2021.

It is not just about writing essays, the ripple effect is really quite enormous, and we are glad that it is cascading to other countries where we operate.’ she said.

Also speaking at the opening of the event, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, commended all 12 finalists, expressing that UBA was happy to be touching lives and making a solid impact through its National Essay Competition, which is now in its 10th edition.

He was very pleased about the fact that more females again came out tops this year, adding that notwithstanding the constraints and challenges of 2020, the Foundation received the highest number of entries ever, at over 12,000 digital submissions’.

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Uzoka who is also the Chairman, UBA Foundation said, “The NEC has been changing lives positively for 10 years, and we have awarded scholarships to students not just in Nigeria but in other parts of Africa like Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal. Some of these students are already graduates and contributing meaningfully to their communities’.

To all 12 of you that have emerged finalists, I would like to congratulate you. If out of 12,000 entries you were able to make it to the top 12, that represents about 0.12% of the entries. You are no doubt, already a winner,” he continued.

UBA Foundation’s National Essay Competition is an initiative under the Education pillar of the Foundation as UBA bank scholarship platform to ensure that more African youths have access to education.

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As a UBA bank scholarship platform, the program also highlights the good quality of education that exists on the continent as it stresses that the grant must be used in any university of the winners’ choice on the African continent.