UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has presented an educational grant of N3 million to Eziaku Esther, a student of His Grace High School, Enugu State, overall winner of the eleventh annual National Essay Competition (NEC) from a selection of over 7,000 senior secondary school students’ entries received digitally by the UBA Foundation.
The grand finale and award presentation ceremony held at the Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre, UBA House, Marina Lagos, also saw Nduka Chukwuemeka of Oxfords International School, Abia State, presented with a N2.5 million educational grant and a laptop, the third prize of N2 million and a laptop went to Hajarat Abdulwahab of Addy Basic School, Kano, while the other nine finalists also received laptops as well as consolation prizes, including books and other learning materials.
Expressing her excitement over winning the N3 million educational grant to study at any African university of her choice, Esther, who also received a laptop and many other educational tools from the UBA Foundation, said she was happy to have come top in the competition, adding that the experience has bolstered her confidence.
“I am so grateful to [the] UBA Foundation for this grand opportunity. It was not very easy as I had to study hard and conduct a lot of research, but I am happy that it paid off for me. This opportunity has changed my life, made me want to learn more, read more and to aspire to be a better person and I really appreciate the UBA and the UBA Foundation for this,” she said.
Kennedy Uzoka the, managing director/chief executive officer of UBA Plc, said the pan-African financial services group is happy that it has been touching lives and making a solid impact through the UBA Foundation, adding that the annual competition, which is in its 11th year, has produced hundreds of winners, some of who have long graduated from higher schools and have been impacting their communities.
Bola Atta, managing director of UBA Foundation, commended the winners for their exceptional brilliance.
Atta noted that education remains one of the Foundation’s focus areas as it is the bedrock of any nation, adding that the UBA Foundation’s national essay competition has been rolled out to other African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea, with plans for more footprints in 2022.
According to her, UBA Foundation, being the CSR arm of UBA Plc, is committed to the socio-economic betterment of the communities in which the bank operates, focusing on development in the areas of education, environment, economic empowerment and special projects.
