Wema Bank Plc has announced a 10-year-old pupil, Chimamanda Ozoakpata, as the 2026 winner of its One-Day Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer initiative to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebrations. This was contained in a statement issued by the bank and made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday.

Handing over the insignia of office to young Chimamanda, the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, shed light on the financial institution’s inspiration behind the project. He said, “At our core is a deep-seated drive for inspiring children and showing them that they have what it takes to fulfil their ambition. For this reason, we launched the One-Day MD/CEO initiative in 2025, giving children the opportunity to step into the demanding yet inspiring role of MD/CEO at one of Nigeria’s longest-standing institutions, Wema Bank. The impact has been phenomenal, and this year, we decided to open up that opportunity to another child.

“It is with great pleasure that I have with me here 10-year-old Chimamanda Diamond Ozoakpata, this year’s record-breaking leader. Today, I am handing over the reins of leadership to Chimamanda, who will become the MD/CEO of Wema Bank for today, in celebration of Children’s Day.

“On behalf of the Board and Management of Wema Bank, I, Moruf Oseni, by the power vested in me as MD/CEO of Wema Bank, do hereby hand over the role of one-day MD/CEO to our star, Diamond Chimamanda, for today, Monday, May 25, 2026. Congratulations, I trust you will make us proud!”

Accepting the mantle of leadership, Chimamanda extended her gratitude to Wema Bank for believing in her and giving her the unique opportunity. Promising to make the bank proud, she said, “Thank you, sir, for trusting me with this great opportunity, for always looking out for the children, and for making our success a priority at Wema Bank.

“I am proud to be a part of the Wema Bank family, not just because of the honour bestowed on me today but also because Wema Bank has shown how committed it is to supporting our parents and empowering children like me with the tools and guidance that we need to become financially smart.

“Today, I have the honour of being the one-day MD/CEO of Nigeria’s oldest indigenous and most innovative bank, Wema Bank Plc. This is just one of the many ways that Wema Bank celebrates Children’s Day, and I am truly grateful.”

Introduced in 2025, the Wema Bank One-Day MD/CEO challenge is an industry-first initiative pioneered by the lender to give children across Nigeria a platform to express their ambitions, tap into their unique potential, and get hands-on insight into corporate leadership. The maiden edition saw a 12-year-old pupil, Chiderie Mbah, emerge as the bank’s first-ever one-day MD/CEO. This year, Chimamanda, who is the Head Girl at Redeemers Foundation Nursery and Primary School, broke a new record by becoming the first female one-day MD/CEO of the financial institution after her one-minute video entry gained over 50,000 views.

As her first act in office, Chimamanda signed off on three new rewards for children and teenagers. The incentives include birthday cash gifts of N5,000 and N10,000 each for children turning five and 10 years old, respectively, between 25 May 2026, and May 2027; a N100,000 reward for the top 100 students in the National Common Entrance Examination starting next month; and the launch of the ‘Evolve’ school tour STEM challenge.

The bank noted that the packages will be available to active customers who maintained Royal Kiddies Accounts for their children. Other highlights of the celebration included a grand event at the bank’s head office in Lagos, the allocation of N500,000 in cash rewards to three children, and the official launch of a financial literacy book titled ‘Wema Bank Money Adventures’ for children aged six years and above.