……Kaduna Government lauds NB Plc, clamours for Maltina Student of the Year…
Teacher representatives of eleven states of Nigeria have stormed Kaduna State for the 6th Edition of Nigerian Breweries Plc’s Maltina Teacher of the year event. The Maltina Teacher State Champions are from 11states of the North which includes Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Borno, Kebbi , Sokoto, Gombe, Abuja, Jigawa and Niger States, attended the event which was held simultaneously in Kaduna, and Enugu for the East, Ibadan for the West and Lagos in adherence to COVID-19 Protocols.
Kaduna hosted the northern states whereas Lagos event held for the finalist-states with Adamawa State’s Miss. Anani Oluwabumi emerging as the overall national winner of the Maltina Teacher of the year for 2020.
Speaking at the awards presentation ceremony for the Maltina Teacher Champions, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Honourable Shehu
Makarfi, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Phoebe Yayi, said ‘’Maltina and in fact Nigerian Breweries Plc is known for greatness in its support for Education not just for Kaduna State but other States. When it comes to Education, Nigerian Breweries Plc has always been in the forefront of supporting teachers, students and other stakeholders. With this Maltina Teacher of the year award for the first time holding in Kaduna, it is another great milestone for the company. This is providing teachers with a feeling of appreciation and hope for the noble profession.
I want to specially appeal for more as Maltina can add Maltina Student of the Year in the subsequent editions’’.
Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive officer for Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel, represented by Brewery Manager, Abbey Ajayi, revealed that “we all have tough days in the office, but I definitely believe that being a teacher is one of the toughest jobs in the world. A good teacher inspires hope, ignites imagination and instills a love of learning – literally shaping and changing lives. Individually, we owe much of who we are and what we have achieved to the education we received from great teachers.
‘’This is why in 1994, we set up the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund. Through this initiative, we seek to invest in projects at primary, secondary and tertiary level that will contribute to improving the level of education in Nigeria.
‘’Over 26 years, we have positively impacted over 35,000 students in 74 communities across the country, by providing them with 417 classrooms, libraries and laboratories. This fund has also made today’s event possible, as it has provided financial backing to the Maltina Teacher of the Year award for 6 years in a row.
Commending the panel of judges led by Professor Pat Utomi for the longhours they put into making this year’s edition a success, Borrut Bel said ‘’ to the 1234 teachers who submitted those amazing stories I talked about earlier, thank you so much. Even though we cannot give prizes to all of you, on behalf of Maltina and Nigeria Breweries, we are forever grateful to you for inspiring our students, for giving your time, money and energy to build our future leaders. ‘’
Also speaking, NB Plc’s Head of Government and External Affairs, Mr. Uzodinma Odenigbo, …… said ‘’for us what is more important is that we are recognizing teachers. Apart from the Maltina Teacher of the Year, we are also leveraging on schools that need support by proving their basic needs.”
Similarly, the Corporate Affairs Manager, North, Mr. Danjuma John-Ekele stressed that ‘’the key driving force with the ‘wining with Nigeria’ platform which takes care of our stakeholders in different ways and this time we are focusing on teachers. We know that in other to have a knowledgeable economy you
need to partner the educational industry which has the teachers as the key drivers. Am a product of teachers given my academic background so teaching profession is key for any nation that wants to grow.’’
Some of the State Champions Simon Apeh and Goodness Walter of Kaduna and Nasarawa respectively thanked Maltina for this rare privilege, promising to boost the education sector via quality teaching
