PAST WINNERS 🏆
1. 2001 — Ebuka Anisiobi
Maryland Comprehensive High School
2. 2002 — Ovwuwhore Etiti (also reported as Otiti Jasmine)
Lagos State Model College, Badore
3. 2003 — Emmanuel Aiyenitaju
Birch Freeman High School
4. 2004 — Tolulope Esan
Lagos State Model College, Meiran
5. 2005 — Oyetade Ajao
Badagry Grammar School
6. 2006 — Abundance Ikechukwu Nlemadim
Ire-Akari Senior Grammar School, Isolo
7. 2007 — Maryam Jumoke Busari
Lagos State Civil Service Model College, Igbogbo
8. 2008 — Daniel Osunbor
Ilupeju Senior High School
9. 2009 — Olaide Adesopo
Estate Senior Grammar School, Ilupeju, Mushin
10. 2010 — Toyin Adeosun
Meiran Secondary School
11. 2011 — Akpakpan Iniodu Jones
Baptist Senior School, Obanikoro
12. 2012 — Lilian Ogbuefi
Lagos State Senior Model College, Kankon, Badagry
13. 2013 — Boadley Juwon Folarin
Omole Grammar School, Ikeja
14. 2014 — Olabanji Edun
Army Children Senior Secondary School, Onigbongbo
15. 2015 — Idowu Sonoiki
Ikotun Senior High School, Ikotun. He became the 15th One-Day Governor.
16. 2016 — Olasehinde Joshua
He emerged winner of the 16th edition and was subsequently recognised as One-Day Governor.
17. 2017 — Zoffun Bukola
Awodiora Senior Secondary School, Awodi-Ora, Ajeromi.
18. 2018 — Gloria Ajala
Lafiaji Senior High School, Lagos Island.
19. 2019 — The state public-school competition appears to have had a break/changed format in the available records.
There was, however, a separate MTN Lagos State Private Schools Spelling Bee, won by Adeola Ademuwa Ifeoluwa of Chrisfield College.
20. 2020 — Jemimah Marcus
Angus Memorial Senior High School, Somolu. She became the 20th One-Day Governor.
21. 2021 — No separate new edition is clearly documented in the sources I found.
Some later reports refer to Jemimah Marcus as the 2020 winner while her One-Day Governor ceremony took place in 2021.
22. 2022 — Abdulazeez Abdulrahmon
Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu. He won the 20th edition in March 2022.
23. 2023–2024 — NO COMPETITION.
24. 2025 — Esther Etiyemonu (Etiyeyemonu Esther Ogechukwuma)
Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbokuta, Imota. She won the 21st Annual Lagos State Spelling Bee and became the latest One-Day Governor.
In 2004, Tolulope Esan, then a student of Lagos State Model College, Meiran, won the Lagos State Spelling Bee and became the one-day governor of Lagos State. She was part of the educational initiative associated with then First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, which used the competition to encourage academic excellence among public secondary-school students.
Interestingly, she did not stop at secondary-school achievement. Public professional records strongly indicate that she went on to study at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Her current professional profile identifies her as Tolulope Esan, CISA, CIA, ACA, and lists OAU among her educational credentials.
Today, she is a Technology Risk & IT Audit Manager, with about nine years of professional experience, and is also the founder of TOLCE Learning Hub, an initiative focused on helping undergraduates and recent graduates develop career and professional skills. She has her own Tutorial School ‼️
Her professional qualifications include ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant), CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and Associate Chartered Banker. Her LinkedIn profile records the ACA qualification in 2018 and CIA in 2020, among others.
She has also spoken publicly about her university years, recalling spending considerable time reading at Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library at OAU. In a 2023 post, she said she had already reached five years as a corporate professional and was beginning to give back to undergraduates and recent graduates.
She has not read academically up to 14 books (MSc) or 16 books (PhD). I can’t get information about her marriage. In Yorubaland, marriage is very important.