Firm Champions Pension Awareness With Huawei-backed Essay Contest

The Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO) marked the 2025 Customer Service Week with a nationwide campaign focused on pension awareness and youth empowerment.

The highlight of the week-long celebration was a Huawei-supported National Essay Competition, alongside high-impact workshops and stakeholder forums held across major Nigerian universities.

The celebration kicked off at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with an opening ceremony and an insightful workshop themed “A Critical Analysis of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and Its Impact on the Nigerian Worker.” The event attracted over 300 attendees, including academic and non-academic staff, retirees, and university administrators.

Professor Kamal Bello of the National Open University delivered the keynote address, thoroughly evaluating the CPS and its relevance to the Nigerian workforce. A panel discussion followed, featuring experts and industry practitioners who dissected the scheme’s successes and ongoing challenges while recommending strategies to improve pension management within the university system.

The week-long activities concluded at the University of Lagos, where Professor Mukhtar Halliru of Bayero University, Kano, delivered the closing keynote. A major highlight was the announcement of the NUPEMCO National Essay Competition winners, themed ‘Securing the Future: Why Pensions Matter for Every Nigerian Worker, ‘ which was partly sponsored by Huawei. The competition was open to students across all Nigerian universities.

The Team Lead for the Essay Assessment Panel, Dr Austen Sado, stated that the competition received over 800 entries. After a rigorous screening process based on published guidelines, 340 essays advanced to the final round, culminating in the selection of six outstanding winners representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Top Winners include: Torsen Saameer Kasmir – University of Jos (North Central), Odo Chidiebere Getrude – University of Nigeria, Nsuka (South East), Amina Ali Bello – University of Maiduguri (North East), Mohammed Sani Musa – Abdullahi Fodio University of Science and Technology (North West), Ita Mary-Kate Ikorr – University of Calabar (South South) and Israel Eze – University of Ibadan (South West)

The winners were rewarded with cash and tech prizes: N500,000 and a tablet for first place, N350,000 and a tablet for second place, and N200,000 and a tablet for third place.

NUPEMCO’s 2025 Customer Service Week reaffirmed its commitment to stakeholder engagement, knowledge sharing, and empowering young Nigerians to play an informed role in shaping the future of pension administration.