Earlier in her opening remarks, the Executive Director, BUDLEIN, Prof. Iyabode Kehinde expressed gratitude to all participants, acknowledging the support of her husband, the Vice-Chancellor who is one of the Board members of BUDLEIN.
Prof. Kehinde who is also the Dean, College of Biosciences (COLBIOS), outlined the journey of the Budding Leaders Empowerment Initiative since its inception in 2018, emphasising its commitment to community development through various campaigns such as Every Child Count, Youth Impact, and Women Empowerment.
According to her, the initiative was aimed to foster innovation, empower communities, promote literacy, and contribute to improving the environment for qualitative living and community development.
Corroborating, the Executive Director, the University Librarian, Dr. Abayomi Owolabi stressed the importance of reading, urging the students to prioritise their studies over distractions like social media.
He highlighted the availability of libraries on campus and pledged ongoing support for fostering a reading culture among the pupils and students.
Highpoint was the visit to the ‘Nimbe Adedipe Library where the participants explored the Serial Section, Reserved Book Room, Acquisition Department, and E-library, Zoo Park including donation of books and Spelling Bee.
Winners of the Spelling Bee and Reading Competitions in both primary and secondary categories were also announced, with recognition given to sponsoring organisations like Havillah Group, Bounty Press Limited, CSS Bookshop, The Book Company Limited, and Mide Farms.
In the Reading Competition (Primary category), Yolad Montessori School got the first position, while God’s Delight Nursery & Primary School came 2nd and Foursquare Nursery and Primary School got the 3rd Position.
In the Secondary category, Babcock Academy came first, while Taidob College and FUNAAB International School, came 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In the Spelling Bee Competition (Primary category), Abubakar Musa of Foursquare Nursery and Primary School came first with Munachi Oluka of God’s Delight School coming 2nd, and EyinjuOluwa Omidiran of Arish Top Group of Schools coming 3rd.
In the Secondary category, Victor Ogunrinu of Dedames College emerged first, while Oluwaseminieniola Ademila of FUNIS came 2nd and Richie Ogunderu of Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu came 3rd.
Additionally, each of the first position winners in the Primary and Secondary categories went home with cash prizes.