Seven students from the South-South and South-East regions have qualified for the grand finale of the MTN mPULSE Spelling Bee after emerging from the regional competition held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The finalists, Jaden Chimezunem, Nancy Ikechukwu, Godswill Obasi, Stephanie Ogbonna, Henry Williams, Harrison Aduku and Victory Okafor, were selected from 20 contestants representing nine schools across the two regions.
They will join other regional qualifiers from across the country to compete for the national title at the grand finale in Lagos.
Speaking at the competition on Monday, MTN’s Regional General Manager, Sales and Distribution, South Region, Ifeanyi Udom, said the contestants had progressed through different stages before reaching the regional contest.
She explained that 20 students were selected after the online round to compete in Port Harcourt, with the seven best performers earning places in the national final.
Udom commended all the contestants, describing their participation in the regional competition as an achievement in itself. She said the initiative was designed to help young people develop their abilities, build confidence and discover their potential.
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According to her, the competition goes beyond spelling words correctly, as it also encourages students to read, learn and challenge themselves.
“At MTN, we believe in enabling the dreams and aspirations of individuals. We also believe in giving young people opportunities to learn, grow and discover just how much they are capable of. That is one of the reasons the mPULSE Spelling Bee is very important to us,” she said.
One of the finalists, 14-year-old Henry Williams, a Junior Secondary School Three student of Legend College, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, expressed excitement over his qualification, describing it as the result of persistence and preparation.
Williams, who said it was his third attempt at the regional finals, disclosed that he had been eliminated in the early rounds during his previous attempts.
He said he improved his preparation by practising with his father’s phone whenever it was available and reading at his school’s library.
“I feel very elated. This is the third time I have tried this spelling bee. The first time and second time, I always failed in the first round. This time, I passed the first round, passed the second round, came here, and I’m now at the final,” he said.
Williams added that he planned to devote more time to studying ahead of the national finale, which he expected to be more competitive.
The mPULSE Spelling Bee, an annual initiative launched by MTN Nigeria in 2020, seeks to promote academic excellence, literacy and intellectual development among young Nigerians.
