Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has rewarded each of six public school students who won the presidential debate competition in Abuja with One Million Naira cash gift and state scholarship for their undergraduate studies in any discipline.
Governor AbdulRazaq, who hosted the students at the Government House Ilorin, described them as the pride of the government and people of Kwara State and commended them for their impressive outing.
He also thanked parents and teachers of the students as well as the leadership of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board for their roles in the feat.
The Governor pledged to continue to invest in human capital development to totally restore the glory of Kwara as the best state in education in Northern Nigeria and the country at large.
Introducing the children to the Governor, Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Professor Sheu Adaramaja, who also came home with an award of being the best SUBEB Chairman in Northern Nigeria, thanked AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for taking basic education in the state with all seriousness and for leading by example.
The Debate Team, comprised exclusively students from public schools, include Mashood Kamaldeen – Government Secondary School, Ilorin, Jatto Ramatallahi – Offa Grammar School, Offa, Jimoh Abayomi Emmanuel – Tanke Community Junior Secondary School, Ilorin, Emmanuel Chioma – St. Anthony Junior Secondary School, Ilorin, Dolapo Mariam – Offa Grammar School, Offa, and AbdulKareem Uswat – Okelele Junior Secondary School Ilorin.
Kwara State recently won the 63rd edition of the presidential debate in Abuja for the second time in a row, asserting its leadership in the competition, which involves participants from the states of the federation.
The state had also won the last edition of the speaking contest in 2021 in Lagos, with the winners similarly accorded a state reception by the Governor, cash rewards, and university scholarship.
The victory in Lagos saw Kwara representing Nigeria at the International Debate Competition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With their latest victory, they will now represent Nigeria at the World school debate championship in the Republic of Serbia in Europe.