For winning the 2025 edition of the MTN mpulse Spelling Bee competition, Oreoluwa Alayande, a 14- year old student of St. Lawrence Metropolitan College, Ado Ekiti, acted as the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria for a day recently.

Alayande earned this seat after emerging as the national champion of the competition, outperforming over 40,000 participants from across the federation.

This year’s competition marked a significant milestone with the expansion of regional qualifiers held in Abuja, Enugu, and Oyo.

Reflecting on the significance of the day, Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, noted that the initiative is a blueprint for the future of Nigerian leadership. “Welcoming Oreoluwa into this office today is a reminder of why we invest in young people,”Toriola stated. 

“By expanding our regional reach this year, we ensured that this opportunity was accessible to every child. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, seeing a young woman lead this organisation – even for a day – reinforces our mission to break glass ceilings. We are going beyond giving prizes; we are building a legacy of inclusion and digital literacy that will live on in her school and her community for years to come.”

Beyond the individual honours, which include a N5 million scholarship grant, a brand-new laptop, and a smartphone, Alayande’s victory brings change to her school. In line with MTN’s commitment to sustainable education, St. Lawrence Metropolitan College received a ₦10 million flagship reward.

This reward includes: a state-of-the-art ICT Lab equipped with 10 high-end laptops, MTN 5G Broadband routers with complimentary data to facilitate digital learning and N500,000 cash prize for the winning teacher to honour their mentorship.

Alayande’s tenure as CEO coincides with the global celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026. She stated: “As we celebrate International Women’s Day this month, I am deeply moved by how MTN promotes women’s inclusion and equality. I am the third female one-day CEO out of seven champions so far – that is a clear sign of how inclusive the competition is.”

She said winning the competition has been one of the most exciting and life-changing moments of her life and she’s deeply honoured and grateful for the opportunity it has given her including acting as MTN CEO for a day.

“This opportunity means so much more to me because it goes beyond winning a competition.

It represents hard work, dedication, and the power of believing in oneself. Through the MNT mPulse Spelling Bee, I have learned that excellence, discipline, and perseverance truly pay off.”

Commenting, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, said the mPulse Spelling Bee is more than just a competition as it is a gateway to various opportunities.

She added that it is one of MTN initiatives to support the education sector and encourage students to develop the requisite skills to succeed in today’s world.