Winners Emerge at Maiden Briggs Foundation Spelling Bee Competition, Get Cash Rewards

Three secondary school students in Lagos state have emerged winners of the 2025 Victor Tulutu Briggs Foundation Spelling Bee Competition, taking home a total cash prize of N1.8m. Over 50 students from various public secondary schools across the state participated in the competition.

The winners emerged after 10 highly competitive rounds. The event which held in Lagos, witnessed 20 select schools from the Lagos state Education Board. Among the winners, 16-year-old student of Olomu Community Senior Secondary School, Lagos State, Jonathan Orim, emerged the overall winner of the maiden Spelling Bee Competition, with a cash prize of N1m.

The second-place prize of N500,000 went to Oshodi Zariat, an SS3 student of Lagos State Model College, Badore, while Alice Opeh, an SS2 student of Victoria Island Senior Secondary School, emerged third, winning N300 ,000. The organisers of the programme disclosed that the winners of the competition would also be sponsored throughout their tertiary education.

Speaking shortly after being declared winner of the competition, Orim Jonathan said “I have gone to other competitions and unfortunately I did not win. I’ve never even been a runner-up. This is my fifth competition and the first that I am winning. I’m very happy right now.

“This has actually inspired me to help others. This is a very good opportunity and I’m very grateful to the Victor Tulutu Briggs Foundation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the President of the Foundation, Dr. Victor Tulutu Briggs, described the competition as a platform to nurture future leaders.

He explained that the foundation was borne out of a desire to spotlight the invaluable nature of education and make learning more assessable for as many who desires it.

“Education brings students from all parts of the country together and it is one major opportunity one can give to every child.

“It is an opportunity for the future and I think that Education is the best thing. The first place winner goes home with the sum of one million, the second place winner goes home with 500,000, and the third place winner returns home N300,000.

“Besides that, all the three of them definitely, will also get scholarship to attend any government university of their choice.”

A visionary, Briggs stressed that “This maiden edition stands as a propeller of my vision to promote literacy in the broader spectrum of education, which is one of the many vehicles driving my burning desire and passion to building a platform that propagates sustainable development and advancement of our society.”