MISS 9JA Introduces Toll-Free Line So Rural Women Can Apply for the Pageant
- MISS 9JA organisers announced plans to launch a toll-free call-back service for applicants in rural areas with limited internet access
- The Head of Digital Strategy said applicants would not need a smartphone, data bundle, or cybercafé to complete their registration
- Applications for the maiden edition of MISS 9JA close on October 10, 2026, with the national finale set for Abuja on May 29, 2027
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The organisers of MISS 9JA have announced plans to launch a toll-free telephone service that will allow young Nigerian women in rural communities to register for the national pageant without purchasing data or travelling to access the internet.
The Head of Digital Strategy at MISS 9JA, Eon Irinen, disclosed the plan in a statement released to journalists on Wednesday. She said the service would work through a call-back system, where applicants without internet access could request a call and a member of the pageant's customer care team would then walk them through the registration process by phone at no cost.
Source: Original
"We removed the entry fee and we removed paid voting, and we were right to. But a young woman in a village who cannot buy data is just as excluded as one who cannot buy a form," Irinen said. "If she has to choose between her application and her airtime, we have not actually opened the door. We have only moved it."
She was direct about what the service would require from an applicant: "She will not need a smartphone, she will not need a data bundle, and she will not need to travel to a cybercafé. She will need a phone that rings, and somebody on our side who is willing to sit with her for twenty minutes and get it right."
MISS 9JA's Broader Push on Accessibility
Irinen also directed the organisation's communications team to respond to every enquiry received on the pageant's social media pages. She said questions posted late at night deserved direct answers, not just acknowledgement.
"A young woman who comments under a post at one in the morning asking whether she is tall enough, or whether being married disqualifies her, deserves an answer. Not a like. An answer. Nobody gets left behind because nobody answered," she said.
The Founder and Director of Partnerships, Adenike Isi Adeeko, said the decision to cover data costs was consistent with the organisation's wider position on money and the competition.
"We have said from the beginning that the crown should not be decided by who can afford it. Data is a cost like any other. If we are serious that money should not decide this competition, then the absence of money cannot be allowed to decide who gets to enter it," Adeeko said.
Key Dates and What the Winner Will Receive
Entry into the competition remains free, and public voting will also be free through verified accounts, with each voter permitted one vote every 24 hours. Voting is scheduled to open on October 15, 2026 and close on January 31, 2027, following the October 10, 2026 application deadline.
Queens representing all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will compete at the national grand finale in Abuja on May 29, 2027. The winner will receive a ₦10 million cash prize, the official crown, and the organisation's signature gold signet ring.
Source: Legit.ng
