Bishop Mike Okonkwo has invited Senior and Junior Secondary School students across Nigeria to participate in the 2026 Bishop Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition, which offers a total prize pool of N1.7 million.
The competition, open to students from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, is part of an initiative established in 2004 to promote writing excellence, critical thinking, and active engagement with national issues among young Nigerians.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Corporate Affairs Department of TREM International Headquarters and signed by Anthony Samuel, which confirmed that entries opened on March 16 and will close on June 30, 2026.
According to the statement, “the initiative was instituted in 2004 as part of Bishop Mike Okonkwo’s corporate social responsibility… enabling Nigerian students to display and engage in intellectual discourse on national issues.”
Participants are required to submit essays of not more than 1,200 words, alongside their personal and school details, including “full name, location/address, telephone number, class/age, school name and location, principal’s name, and principal’s telephone number.”
Submissions are to be sent via email to essay@trem.org, while hard copies may also be delivered to TREM International Headquarters, Anthony Oke Bus Stop, Gbagada, Lagos.
The organisers stated that the overall winner will receive N800,000, a laptop, and a plaque, while the student’s school will be awarded a desktop computer and a plaque. The first runner-up will get N500,000, a laptop, and a plaque, with a desktop computer for their school, while the second runner-up will receive N400,000, a laptop, and a plaque, alongside a desktop computer for their school.
The statement added that “over 20,000 students have participated in the competition since its establishment,” highlighting its growing national impact.
