The Benue State Government has granted scholarships to students of the state who were part of the Nigerian representative that defeated the Indonesian Team to emerge victorious at the Indonesia-Nigeria Bilateral Debate held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Governor Hyacinth Alia revealed this when he received the students at the Benue State Government House, Makurdi.
The representatives from the country which participated at the bilateral international debate competition, organised for basic education learners under the auspices of the President, School Debate Nigeria, had Sonia Aduba, Ogenyi Favour, Samuel Ochara and Ruth Suurshater as participants from Benue State.
Governor Alia, who could not hide his excitement, said during the reception on Monday that he was happy his administration has set an exemplary path of excellence for the students to follow.
He said his government will not lament about paucity of funds, especially as regard issues of education and development, assuring that all Benue children will be given equal opportunity under his administration to travel internationally in order to make the state proud.
While congratulating the students, the Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Grace Adagba; Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr. Frederick Kyaan; parents of the students; and their coaches for their support, the governor promised that his administration will continue to prioritise education, youth empowerment, job creation and security in order to create a brighter future for the children and the state as a whole.
Alia revealed further that the government will henceforth take up the tuition fees of the four students up to their first degrees at the university.
He also donated a cash reward of N4 million to each of the four students who participated in the competition.
Their coaches were also given N3 million cash reward for their support to the students, while 10 laptop computers were given to their schools by the governor.
Earlier in her address, Adagba appreciated the governor for supporting the Benue team to represent the country in Indonesia, intimating that the representatives were selected from public schools such as SUBEB-UBEC Smart School, Adaka; Arabic Junior School, Makurdi; and LGEA School, Owners Occupier.
She urged parents and stakeholders to encourage the participation of children in the public schools in the state.
Also in his remarks, Kyaan said it was a thing of joy as the students went out of the country and made the state proud.
He appreciated the governor for making it possible for the students to fly the colours of the state overseas, while also commending the students for performing excellently at the debate, adding that the representatives, which cut across Tiv, Idoma and Igede, revealed unity of purpose.
The Benue team was led to Indonesia by Adagba, with their coaches and other officials of the Board.
The team arrived Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, on the night of May 5, 2024, and the competition lasted from May 6 to 11, 2024.
The aim of the competition was to help students express their points of view on selected topics, as well as listen to the views of others and think critically.
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Benue State emerged second at the national level of the competition, which was held in Abuja in November 2023, with Kwara State coming top, while Taraba State came third.
The top three teams represented Nigeria at the debate in Indonesia.
They debated on the topic: “This House Believes that it is in President Putin of Russia’s interest to pull out his troops from Ukraine.”
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