University of Lagos, DaySpring School and Marvelvine Montessori School, all in Lagos, have emerged winners in the tertiary, secondary and primary schools categories of the 2024 Ecobank National Schools’ Teams Chess Competition at the Pan African Centre.
On May 28, 2024, a statement from the bank disclosed that the chess competition attracted over 1,200 players from over 250 schools across 18 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Vice President of the Nigerian Chess Federation, Prince Adeyinka Adewole, expressed excitement at the championship, which was introduced last year when the International Chess Federation started the World Schools Team Chess Championship.
“118 primary schools, 86 secondary schools, and 42 tertiary institutions participated and jostled for prizes of over 15 million Naira at the three-day tournament, which took place between Friday and Sunday at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
At the end of the highly competitive tournament, the University of Lagos came tops in the tertiary school category and was followed by the University of Benin and Chess in Slums Africa, while DaySpring School, Platforms School, Ireti Senior Grammar School came first, second and third, respectively, in the secondary school category. For the primary school category, Marvelvine Montessori School came first while Scholars Academy, Ibadan, was second best, followed by Okikioluwa Junior in the third position.”
Managing Director/Regional Executive, Ecobank Nigeria, Bolaji Lawal, declared that the decision of the bank to sponsor the 2024 Ecobank National Schools’ Teams Chess Competition was to further showcase Ecobank’s commitment to supporting intellectual and sports development in Nigeria, which is part of Ecobank’s strategic human capital development drive.
In his words:
“The winners here today are rising stars. And I must say this is in line with our objective of supporting children and youths as the next generation of change-makers. This sponsorship aligns with our overall long-term vision of building a world-class Pan-African bank that contributes to the economic and financial integration of the continent.
We are also using the opportunity of this competition to introduce and empower them with convenient, affordable, and accessible digital financial services they can access anytime and anywhere they are. Arrangements are in place to make our partnership an annual event, as it is exciting and fulfilling for both the children and undergraduate students.”
In his comment, the Minister of Sports, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Director of the Federal Ministry of Sports Liaison Office in Lagos, Ms. Ikana Mbora, remarked that the ministry was proud of the NCF.
He commended the students for their resilience and determination to win, as “this represents the Nigerian can-do spirit”.
The first edition of the competition saw Platform Schools, Ikeja, Lagos emerge as the national champion, earning the school the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the World Schools Team Chess Championship in Kazakhstan.
