As this year’s edition of the Bishop Mike Okonkwo Annual National Essay Competition for Nigerian Secondary School Students 2026 kicked off, over N1.7 million cash and other prizes will be won by the winners at the yearly competition.
The national essay competition for Nigerian secondary school students was instituted in 2004 by the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Dr Mike Okonkwo, as part of his corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives towards enabling Nigerian students to display and engage in intellectual discourse on national issues.
The topic of this year’s essay is: “Democracy at the Crossroads: Electoral Credibility, Judicial Integrity and the Future of Nigeria.”
Announcing the entries for this year’s edition of the competition tied to Bishop Okonkwo’s annual birthday celebration, Rev. Anthony Samuel, in a statement signed for the Corporate Affairs Department, TREM International Headquarters, Gbagada, Lagos, said the entries commenced from March 16, 2026, and would close on June 30, 2026.
He stated: “Senior and Junior Secondary School students across the 36 states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are invited to compete for honour and cash prizes, as well as other rewards in the national essay competition for 2026.”
The statement, which noted that the competition offers a star prize of N800,000 and other prizes, added that participants must submit an essay of not more than 1,200 words with their full name, location/address, telephone number, class/age, school name and location, principal’s name, and principal’s telephone number.
All submissions, it announced, should be emailed to [email protected], while hard copies could also be dropped at TREM International Headquarters, Anthony Oke Bus Stop, Gbagada, Lagos.
The star prize (1st place) would win N800,000; a laptop and a plaque; and the winner’s school receives a desktop computer and a plaque; while the first runner-up will go home with N500,000, a laptop and a plaque with the school receiving a desktop computer; and the second runner-up is the receive N400,000, a laptop, and a plaque, and the school will get a desktop computer.
“Since its establishment in 2004, the annual National Essay Competition for Nigerian secondary School Students has aimed to develop good writing skills, foster critical thinking, and encourage engagement with trending national issues through academic narratives.
“It has attracted over 20,000 student participants and serves as a significant platform for intellectual discourse on national issues,” the statement added.
As a committed advocate for the less privileged, Bishop Mike Okonkwo founded the Empowerment for the Less Privileged (ELP) Foundation, an NGO that alleviates hardship through hospital donations, free vocational training centres, preparatory schools for secondary students, health awareness campaigns, and scholarships for talented students.
The Presiding Bishop of TREM, with over 30 years of dedicated ministry, preaches the power of the Word to a multicultural audience and leads a ministry with more than 180 branches in Nigeria and 10 countries worldwide.
The Convener of the Communion of Covenant Ministries International (CCMI), which mentors and networks pastors through conferences and seminars, Bishop Okonkwo, beyond the pulpit, is a conference speaker, crusade evangelist, author, and television and radio host, as well as a respected voice advocating balanced Christianity in Nigeria.
He studied at the Morris Cerullo School of Ministry and Covington Theological Seminary in the USA and holds several doctoral degrees and honorary awards.
