This is a statement culled from the Lagos state government website. The original story can be read here.
Winners of the last Spelling Bee Competition where a one-day Governor emerged alongside members of the executive council were hosted by the wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Mrs. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu on Monday at the Lagos House Ikeja and Marina respectively.
The Spelling Bee winners were led to the Office and Residence of the First Lady by the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS), Education District II, Mrs. Anike Adekanye and the Director-General Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu, who warmly received the Spelling Bee winners, their principals, teachers, friends and family members at Marina, said that the visit to her office and official residence was a way of encouraging and exposing the students to governance and also accord them the privileges of interacting with her directly.
She advised the Spelling Bee winners to see the visit as a learning opportunity that should be cherished by them for a long time, just as she also presented gift items to the students.
While counselling the winners to aim for greater heights in life, the First Lady told them to truly aspire to become future Governors and influential personalities in the society that can help bring about the much-needed changes that the country deserves.
In her words, “I am very convinced that you will all become great personalities in the nearest future, I urge you to replicate good governance better than what you have experienced and still experiencing here in Lagos. Provide more platforms for those coming behind you the same way this idea of the one-day governor was institutionalised some years back”.
Also speaking during the visit, the TG/PS of Education District II, Mrs. Adekanye applauded the First Lady for her special interest in the academic excellence of school pupils and for sustaining the vision of the One-Day Governor and even improving on it.
According to her, the First Lady was the first wife of the State Governor that initiated educational projects for Lagos schools through the intervention of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) where some Laboratory equipment and Boreholes were donated to schools across the State.
Adekanye, on behalf of the entire family of Basic Education in the State, promised continuous support for the realisation of the vision of the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the education sector from primary and secondary schools.
On her part, the Director-General of OEQA, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni described the consistency in the hosting of the one-day governor event over the years as a result of commitment to an ecosystem by successive administrations in the State.
She particularly acknowledged the present First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, for initiating the idea of celebrating the Spelling Bee winners alongside their family members and friends.
The Director-General also noted that the Spelling Bee competition remains the longest-standing and most consistent event of the Ministry of Basic Education in Lagos State that everyone is proud of and that had impacted the lives of students from different States in the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Domestic Affairs, Mrs. Motolani Ladipo appreciated the present First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Senator Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu for the vision of the one-day governor during her tenure as the First Lady of Lagos State.
The Governor’s Aide expressed the hope that the one-day governor concept would be replicated at the Federal level such that more school pupils across the country can benefit from it.
Recall that AbdulAzeez AbdulRahmon of Oriwu Senior Model College won the 2022 edition of the Spelling Bee Competition, thereby earning the honour to become the one-day Governor this year.