Uzoigwe Miracle and Goodness Adejare have emerged winners of the inaugural Pius Oleghe Poetry and Literary Awards (POPALS), following a rigorous adjudication process.
The POPALS organizers disclosed this in a statement signed by Prof. Remi Raji and Nnamdi Okose, literary directors of the Pius Oleghe Poetry Prize, and made it available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
The competition, themed “Nigeria of Our Dreams,” attracted entries from young and emerging poets nationwide, with organisers describing the submissions as reflections of Nigeria’s rich literary talent.
According to the organisers, Miracle emerged winner in the Young Voices category, open to poets aged 12 to 17, with judges commending her exceptional creativity and impressive poetic craftsmanship.
They added that Adejare won the Emerging Poets category, open to writers aged 18 to 35, for artistic excellence and thoughtful engagement with the competition’s central theme.
The organisers also announced that shortlisted poems would be compiled into the inaugural Pius Oleghe Poetry Prize Anthology, preserving a wider selection of outstanding works from the competition’s first edition.
They praised the strong response to the competition, saying the volume and quality of entries reaffirmed poetry’s continuing role as a vehicle for imagination, creativity, and national reflection.
The organisers also commended the panel of judges for demonstrating professionalism, fairness and integrity throughout the adjudication and selection process, which culminated in the announcement of the competition’s inaugural winners.
According to them, the inaugural edition marks the beginning of a broader effort to discover and nurture literary talent while creating opportunities for emerging writers across Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
