Miss Ruth Ejims, a 12-year-old student from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, has emerged as the first prize winner of the  2016 Spelling Bee national final, which took place in Lagos, at the weekend, while Miss Tirenioluwa, a 10-year-old student from Ota, Ogun State, picked the second position.The third position went to a 10-year-old Master Daniel Ogwala, another student from Port-Harcourt in Rivers State, with all the winners of the keenly contested exercise decorated by the immediate former champion, Miss Onyechi Obiaguna.

The first winner, Ruth, besides winning a cash prize of N250,000 and becoming an Ambassador of Betamalt, the sponsor of the contest, would now have an opportunity to travel to Washington DC in the United States next month to participate in the final of Spelling Bee, with a shopping allowance of $500.

Tirenioluwa, who came second, won a cash prize of N150,000 while Daniel collected a cash prize of N100,000. The schools’ coaches of the winners also went home with various prizes.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the first prize winner, Ruth said she had always looked forward to emerging the winner of the contest, disclosing that she worked hard and  loved reading books, a reason people around her nicknamed her  bookworm and a walking dictionary.

“Hard work of course because I studied hard for it, I worked hard, I read books, everybody was like calling me bookworm, working dictionary. Everybody knows me as being brilliant,” she said.

Ruth, however, said she was very prepared for the coming final of The Spelling Bee in Washington, US, adding, “If I studied more, I can smash it.”

Tribune…..

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