Two Lagos pupils emerge spelling bee champions

The chairman, Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area, Adetola Abubakar (second left) and winners of the council's Spelling Bee Competition, in Lagos, on Thursday. Credit: Uthman Salami

Ogar Destiny of Arowosegbe Nursery/Primary School, Lagbaji, Ketu, and Mistura Haruna of Ketu Comprehensive Senior High School emerged winners of a spelling bee competition for public primary and secondary schools in Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

 At the event held on Thursday at the LCDA, Ogar won the primary school category while Haruna won the secondary school category.

 The council’s 2026 spelling bee competition had 20 schools participating.

 In the primary school category, Mercy Ayeni of Apostolic Nursery/Primary School, Kosofe, emerged first runner-up, while Naomi Ugochukwu of Anglican Nursery/Primary School, Odogun, was second runner-up.

 In the secondary school category, Bolarinwa Ayomide and Ocheme Gift, both of Odogun Community High School, came second and third, respectively.

 The winners and other participants received prizes from the Chairman of the LCDA, Adetola Abubakar.

 Speaking at the event, Abubakar said the annual competition encouraged pupils to study harder, improve their academic performance and develop a healthy spirit of competition.

 “This is Spelling Bee 2026. It’s quite important for us to ensure that this continues because it encourages the children and motivates them to do better,” she said.

 She explained that the competition involved several stages, beginning with contests within classes and schools before the grand finale.

 She said the prizes were intended to motivate the pupils to remain committed to their studies.

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 “It makes them study harder because they all want to come out in flying colours. It’s one of the ways we’re motivating our students to do better,” Abubakar said.

 The chairman described all the finalists as winners and said the council had provided gifts for every participant in recognition of their efforts.

 She also commended teachers for their dedication to the pupils’ academic development, noting that they played important roles in helping the children understand their lessons and perform well in school.

 “The teachers are wonderful. They are doing their best, and we are also very proud of them. We don’t celebrate teachers enough,” she said, urging them to sustain their efforts.

 Abubakar further highlighted the council’s initiatives to promote the welfare, safety and education of the girl child through a programme known as SHE, which stands for Safety, Health and Education.

 According to her, the initiative includes the monthly distribution of sanitary pads and other personal hygiene products to schoolgirls to ease the financial burden on their families.

 She said the items distributed included sanitary pads, body spray, soap and tissue, adding that the programme was designed to ensure that menstruation did not become an additional burden on girls or their parents.

 The chairman also disclosed that the council had a department responsible for handling complaints involving girls, stressing that the administration would not tolerate molestation, sexual abuse or harassment.

 She reaffirmed the council’s commitment to girls’ education and equal opportunities, rejecting the traditional notion that a girl’s place was in the kitchen.

 “The girl-child is no less important than any other child. In the past, people used to say that a girl’s place is in the kitchen. Nowadays, a girl’s place is right in front,” Abubakar said.