The UBA Foundation has opened entries for the 2025 edition of its National Essay Competition (NEC), announcing a significant increase in its educational grants for secondary school students across Nigeria.
The foundation, which serves as the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa Plc, confirmed that winners of this year’s competition will share grants exceeding N18 million, marking the highest allocation since the programme began 15 years ago.
According to details released by the foundation, the first-place winner will now receive a N10 million university grant to study at any African university of their choice, up from N7.5 million awarded in 2024. The second-place and third-place winners will also receive increased grants of N7.5 million and N5 million, respectively, compared with N5 million and N3.5 million offered last year.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta, said the upward review underscored the foundation’s commitment to education and youth empowerment. “For well over a decade, the National Essay Competition has provided a vital platform for our secondary school students to express their ideas and showcase their intellectual prowess. In fact, parents and pupils have come to look forward to the NEC as they keep calling to ask about the commencement,” she said.
Atta added that this year’s theme— “Nigeria is characterised by diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. How can young Nigerians deploy diversity to build a united nation?”— was chosen to engage young people in conversations on national unity. “This year’s topic is particularly crucial as it tasks them to look at our country’s greatest asset, which is our diversity, and devise ways to leverage it for unity, growth, and national development. We believe the young minds of today hold the key to a more harmonious and prosperous Nigeria,” she stated.
Entries are open to Nigerian senior secondary school students who must submit handwritten essays of no more than 750 words on the competition portal before Friday, October 17, 2025. Applicants are also required to upload a recent passport photograph along with proof of age and identity, such as a birth certificate, National ID card, or international passport.
The UBA Foundation said the NEC remains central to its goal of nurturing intellectual capacity, encouraging critical thinking, and rekindling the reading culture among Nigerian youths.
