…Wins ₦5 Million Educational Grant and to become MTN CEO for a Day
In what can best be described as a thrilling display of vocabulary mastery, 14-year-old Oreoluwa Alayande from St. Lawrence Metropolitan College, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State has been named the champion of the 2025 MTN mPulse Spelling Bee Grand Finale. The competition, held at the MTN Rooftop Ikoyi on Saturday, November 29th, saw the top 20 young spellers in Nigeria battle for prizes worth millions of Naira.
Oreoluwa’s phenomenal performance secures a grand prize package including a ₦5 million educational grant, a new laptop, a smartphone, to become the MTN CEO for a Day, and the prestigious mPulse Face of the Year. The recognition extends beyond the champion: her teacher receives a ₦500,000 cash prize, and her school will be equipped with an ICT lab (10 laptops) and 10 MTN 5G Broadband routers, ensuring a lasting impact on digital learning.
The Grand Finale, meticulously managed and verified by the consulting firm KPMG, followed a tight schedule. The event flowed seamlessly from the initial 40-minute round to a fun-filled 15-minute trivia session, engaging the audience. The competition included a one-hour segment that narrowed the field. The culmination of the day’s intellectual warfare was the announcement of all winners, starting with the 11th to 20th positions, leading up to the grand reveal of the top three. The event also took time to recognise academic support, announcing the schools with the highest number of participants across the six regions.
Speaking at the grand finale, Babatunde Oyeleye, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, MTN Nigeria, acknowledged the parents and teachers. “Every year, we bring you all together to see who becomes the exceptional speller in Nigeria, and the participants always perform exceptionally,” Oyeleye stated. “I’d like to say a big thank you to the parents and the teachers. You dedicate your time to nurturing these children, and the feeling of pride is always evident on your faces. We are glad to be enablers of that smile and pride you feel,” Oyeleye said.
The success of the 2025 Spelling Bee underscores MTN’s ongoing dedication to educational development and youth empowerment in Nigeria. The mPulse initiative continues to bridge the gap in digital literacy, ensuring that Nigerian students are equipped with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills exemplified by all the participants.
