Elesho, 23 wins N1 million in NCDMB Undergraduate Essay competition

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

A second-year Political science student at the University of Ibadan, Ayotomiwa Elesho, on Wednesday won the N1 million prize in the 6th annual national undergraduate Essay competition of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB.

Victor Sunday, 23 of University of Nigeria, Nsukka emerged second winning N700,000, while Doutimibraladei Timothy Frank, a year one student of mechanical engineering, Federal University, Otuoke emerged third, with N500,000.

The best 10 out of the more than 2,000 entries got a laptop each.

Speaking at the event, Executive Secretary Simbi Wabote said that NCDMB has sustained the sponsorship for six years because the board prioritises impactful youth engagement.

Represented by the Head of Corporate Communication, Esueme Dan-Kikile, Wabote said, NCDMB will continue to introduce programs that will engage Nigerian youths, especially undergraduates.

“The annual national undergraduates’ essay competition is one of NCDMB’s multiple interventions to lift the standard of education in Nigeria. It aims to promote proficiency in writing, awareness of local content and its benefit to the national economy, and to engender citizen engagement from the undergraduate level.

“The topic was expected to stimulate the young ones to deploy their creativity in capturing the strategies that should be considered in transiting into cleaner energy as well as appraise the Board’s interventions in this light. I received feedback that the participants have done exceptionally well.

“As we may be aware, in March 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari declared the years 2021 to 2030 as Nigeria’s Decade of Gas and announced the Federal Government’s determination to fully exploit the nation’s abundant gas resources to accelerate the economic development of Nigeria. This declaration aligns fully with the rising global demand for cleaner energy sources.

“Also, in August 2022, the Federal Government launched the Energy Transition Plan which was applauded by the United States Government for being the first in the African Continent.

“This is why we chose the topic of this year’s competition to focus on “Strategizing for Transformation to Clean Energy Landscape: The NCDMB Intervention,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion Sen. Inatimi Spiff said, the topic for the essay competition was apt, with the effects of climate change ravaging the global landscape.

He noted that nations now look for alternative sources of energy, challenging youths in tertiary institutions to share their perspectives on the topic:  Strategizing for Transformation to Clean Energy Landscape: The NCDMB Intervention.

“Since its establishment, the NCDMB has impacted and enhanced local participation in the oil and gas industry in an appreciable manner.

“The era where artisans and other unskilled personnel were brought from abroad to work in the oil and gas industry even where local capacity abound has become a thing of the past.

“To NCDMB the organizing institution, I wish to thank the management and staff for the initiative which in all ramifications is worthy of emulation,” Spiff said.

Mr. Eyinimi Omorozi, CEO of Mahogany 21st Century

Concepts Limited, consultants to the NCDMB on the competition, described the competition as a major event for NCDMB, adding that the board has been supporting the competition because they have seen success.

He said, ” In the next five years, we want to see the competition grow where it will be recognized all over the world so that Nigerians outside will participate in the programme.”