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The President’s School Debate, Nigeria, PSDN, has recommended the Enugu State Debate Team to represent the country at the World Schools Debate Championship, WSDC, holding in Panama in July 2025.
Conveying the nomination to the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, the Chairman of the National Advisory Board, of Presidential Schools Debate, Nigeria, PSDN, Usman Muhammad, said the development was sequel to Team Enugu’s impressive outing at the last debate for secondary schools where they emerged the overall best.
In the letter dated November 5, 2024, Muhamad said, “This is to congratulate you on the spectacular performance of the Enugu State Debate Team at the recently concluded Inter-Secondary Schools 2024 Democracy Day National Debate Championship Finals in Abuja.
“It is as a result of your State Team’s first position at the National Finals that the state has been nominated to represent Nigeria at the upcoming World Schools Debate Championship, in Panama in July 2025.
“WSDC is the highest international world schools debate congregation for top debaters, globally.”
Meanwhile, the Enugu State contingent, which had emerged victorious in Abuja is made up of Emmanuella Chukwuma of Holy Rosary College, Enugu; Chiamaka Okwuibe of Queen’s School, Enugu; Goodness Chinedu Chiemerie of St. Patrick’s College, Emene, Enugu; and Chibuikem Ukadike of the College of the Immaculate Conception, CIC, Enugu.
The victorious students predicated their victory on Governor Mbah’s huge investment in education, noting that Enugu students were unable to participate in the National Debate Championship for over ten years and before the coming of the present administration due to lack of support.
Recall that while receiving Team Enugu at the Government House, Enugu, in September, Mbah awarded scholarship up to university level to the contingent, in addition to cash awards, saying the team’s victory in Abuja showed that his administration’s investment in education was paying off, which is 33 per cent of the state’s N521.5bn 2024 budget, the highest in the entire country.
“When we made the pronouncement that we were going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education; that for every N100, we will spend N33 on education, a lot of people thought it was mere posturing or perhaps to earn public acclaim. But we knew that if we are to achieve a zero per cent rate poverty headcount index, we must do something that is radical in our education sector,” Mbah had said.