Princewill Ebubechukwu, a 12-year-old pupil of Gateway Schools in Enugu State, has emerged the winner of the first edition of the Heirs Life Essay Championship.
Niyi Onifade, Chief Executive Officer, Heirs Life Assurance Ltd., in a statement on Sunday said the nationwide competition was organised by the company with over 1,000 students submitting entries from across the country.
He said that Ebubechukwu was rewarded with a new laptop.
He said Ebubechukwu’s school, represented by the proprietress, Dr Loveline Ndu, received the Heirs Life Essay Championship cup, N500,000 worth of books and other educational materials at the award ceremony held in Enugu on Friday.
According to him, the essay championship showcased the highly intellectual young future leaders in the nation.
He said other winners included Purity Chukwudi Chetachi, a Basic five pupil of Star of Hope School, Lagos, who emerged first runner up and won a cash prize of N100,000.
He said that Abidoye Habeeb, a JSS two student of Mivara Secondary School, Lagos, won third place with a cash prize of N50,000.
“All the students who participated in this competition are winners, however, we can only award a few of them.
“Indeed, the quality of essays that we received from these amazing students was fascinating and the winner, Princewill Ebubechukwu, expressed himself in such a remarkable way that one could easily visualise his dreams for our country.
“We congratulate Princewill, his school, and the other finalists, and wish all of them a very bright future,” he said.
Onifade explained that participating students were tasked to submit a 500-word essay on the topic, ‘If I were the President of Nigeria’.
He said the over 1,000 entries received were graded by a team of experts under the leadership of a notable Professor of English Language, followed by a selection interview for further quality assurance.
Speaking on behalf of the star prize winner, his parents, Mr and Mrs Ebubechukwu, appreciated Heirs Life for their initiative and the opportunity given to students to compete in an educative and cordial manner.
They also wished the management of Heirs Life greater successes in their future endeavours.
The Heirs Life Essay Championship is one of the company’s activities to launch its flagship product for schools – the Heirs Smart School Plan.
It is an affordable low-cost plan that promises to pay a child’s school fees throughout his/her stay in the school if the parent is unable to do so in a case of death or permanent disability.
The Smart School Plan served as an inspiration for the essay competition.
The company is a specialist life insurance company offering simple, quick, accessible, and reliable life insurance, retirement, and children’s education protection plans.
Heirs Life is also a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment group with presence across four continents and 20 African countries.
