SystemSpecs has announced the winners of its sixth annual Children's Day Essay Competition (CDEC), celebrating the innovation and patriotism of young Nigerian students. The announcement came during a virtual event held on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
Adeomi Adesewa Penelope of Abesan Comprehensive Junior College, Lagos, and Okeke Chukwudumebi Daniel of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, emerged as first-place winners in the junior and senior categories respectively. Each winner will receive a ₦1,000,000 cash prize, a brand-new laptop, a one-year internet subscription, and additional gift items.
This year's competition, themed "How I Will Use Technology to Mobilise My Peers for a Greater Nigeria," saw a remarkable 33% increase in participation, with over 4,700 entries from students aged 9 to 16 across all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Other Winners and Prizes
In the junior category, Agboola Caleb of Baylen Homeschools, Ogun State, and Yusuf Ridwanullahi Adeleke of Immaculate Heart Senior Comprehensive High School, Lagos State, secured second and third positions, receiving ₦750,000 and ₦500,000 respectively, along with laptops and other prizes.
For the senior category, Mbadugha Chisom Ifechi Chukwu of Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Lagos, and Ifewemeh-Ojo Hadassah Ohihioemehen of Kembos College, Lagos, claimed second and third positions with identical reward packages.
Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, and Abesan Comprehensive Junior College, Lagos, were recognized as the Winning Schools in the senior and junior categories respectively. Each winning school will receive ten brand-new laptops to support technology capacity building among students.
Lagos State emerged as the Winning State, having produced the highest number of public school entries within the top 100 submissions.
Beyond a Competition
"For six years now, we have stayed true to one goal: to hear and celebrate the voices of Nigerian children using technology for good," said Mrs. Bukola Adeboye, Executive Director, Corporate Services at SystemSpecs. "The CDEC is more than a contest; it is a catalyst for transformation - nurturing the dreams, confidence, and critical thinking skills that our nation urgently needs."
'DeRemi Atanda, Managing Director of Remita Payment Services Limited (RPSL), a subsidiary of the SystemSpecs Group, added: "We are not only proud of the ideas shared by these future leaders, we are deeply inspired by them. CDEC reinforces our belief that young people must be central to Nigeria's innovation story."
The formal presentation of prizes will take place at the CDEC Award Ceremony scheduled for June 2025. The event will be held in a hybrid format to ensure broad participation, with the official date to be announced soon.
SystemSpecs is a leading technology group that has operated in Nigeria and other African countries for over 33 years. The company invests in and manages software technology companies through its subsidiaries: Remita Payment Services Limited, HumanManager Limited, SystemSpecs Technology Services Limited, and SystemSpecs Deelaa Limited.
