Seven students from the South-South and South-East regions have secured places in the grand finale of the MTN mPULSE Spelling Bee after emerging from the regional competition held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday.
The finalists, Jaden Chimezunem, Nancy Ikechukwu, Godswill Obasi, Stephanie Ogbonna, Henry Williams, Harrison Aduku and Victory Okafor, emerged from a pool of 20 contestants representing nine schools across the two regions.
They will join other successful contestants from across the country to compete for the national title at the grand finale in Lagos.
The regional contest featured several rounds of spelling challenges, with the students demonstrating their knowledge and ability as they competed for the seven available places.
Speaking at the event, MTN’s Regional General Manager, Sales and Distribution, South Region, Ifeanyi Udom, said the contestants had progressed through different stages of the competition before reaching the regional finals.
She explained that 20 students were selected after the online round to compete for places in the national finale.
“At the end of the online round, 20 outstanding students from across the South-East and the South-South were selected to come here in Port Harcourt and compete in the regional competition.
“From these 20 spellers sitting here with us, the top seven will earn a place at the grand finale in Lagos, where they will compete alongside other top spellers from across the country,” she said.
Udom commended all the contestants, noting that reaching the regional stage was an achievement in itself.
She said the competition was designed to give young people opportunities to develop their abilities, build confidence and discover their potential.
“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.
The MTN official added that the competition was about more than spelling words correctly, encouraging participants to develop a stronger interest in reading and learning.
“We want this experience to encourage you to read more, to learn more, to challenge yourself and, most importantly, to believe in yourself,” she said.
Launched in 2020, the annual MTN mPULSE Spelling Bee is an initiative of MTN Nigeria aimed at promoting literacy, academic excellence and intellectual development among young Nigerians.
The Port Harcourt regional competition brought together students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders, as the seven successful contestants secured their opportunity to represent the South-South and South-East regions at the national finale in Lagos.
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