A 14-year-old student, Miss Esther Etiyemonu, has stepped into history as Lagos State’s One-Day Governor after emerging overall winner of the 2025/2026 Spelling Bee Competition for public secondary schools.
Etiyemonu, an SS II student of Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbookuta, Imota in Ikorodu Division, temporarily assumed leadership of the state as part of the annual initiative designed to promote academic excellence and leadership among students.
She was received at the Lagos House, Marina, by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, alongside her two-member “executive council” — One-Day Deputy Governor Miss Dorcas Awoyemi of Ikosi Senior High School and One-Day Secretary to the State Government Miss Salami Jumain Olaide of Angus Memorial Senior High School, Yaba. The students were accompanied by their parents and teachers.
Winner of the 21st edition of the competition, Etiyemonu presided over a brief State Executive Council meeting, highlighting the vision behind the Spelling Bee initiative pioneered by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Describing the competition as a “worthy education legacy,” she said it continues to nurture academic excellence and leadership among students in Lagos public schools.
The One-Day Governor commended the Sanwo-Olu administration for what she described as significant transformation across education, transportation, and security sectors. She cited the recruitment of teachers, establishment of technical colleges, digital skills training programmes, upgrading of tertiary institutions, staff housing development, and renovation of public secondary school libraries as notable achievements.
She also pointed to infrastructure improvements, including road reconstruction along the Gberigbe axis leading to Ikorodu and the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red and Blue Lines, which she said have enhanced mobility across the state.
In his response, Sanwo-Olu said Etiyemonu’s emergence from a state-owned school justified his administration’s sustained investment in public education. He described her performance as evidence of improved academic standards in Lagos schools.
“You embody excellence and the calibre of students emerging from our public institutions,” the governor said, adding that improved performance in external examinations such as WASSCE and NECO reflects the government’s commitment to enhancing school infrastructure, learning environments, and teachers’ welfare.
Sanwo-Olu pledged continued support for public schools through improved healthcare services, better access roads, maintenance of facilities, and provision of modern learning tools. He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining the Spelling Bee initiative as a lasting educational legacy.
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