By Onome Oghenetega
Alema Secondary School at Abigborodo in the Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State has emerged winner of the 4th edition of the Comrade Sheriff Mulade’s sponsored quiz and essay competition for schools in the three Warri council areas of the state.
The quiz and essay competition is aimed to deepen the educational development students especially pupils in riverine communities in the state.
At the grand finale of the competition held on Wednesday at the Hussey College, Warri, Alema Secondary School clinched first position after defeating Egbokodo Secondary School which came second while Okerenkoko Secondary School came third for the junior secondary school category.
In the quiz category for only Junior Secondary School students, Alema Secondary School which won the first prize got N100,000, Egbokodo Secondary School which came second got N70,000 while Okerenkoko Secondary School which came third got N50,000.
Similarly, Master Eke Emmanuel of Egbokodo Secondary School in Warri South LGA won the essay competition for senior secondary category.
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Eke Emmanuel, who emerged the winner of the essay category, won a cash prize of N50,000, Ese David of Alema Secondary School who clinched second position got N30,000 while Ehiator Peace of Erejuwa Secondary School came third winning N20,000 cash prize.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chief Patrick Ukah, has called prominent community leaders especially those riverine communities in the state to support government efforts at support quality education.
Ukah, represented by the Chief Inspector of Education in Warri South Local Government Area, Mr. Solomon Onyeneme, who spoke at the grand finale of the quiz and essay competition, said with such initiative, academic excellence will be promoted in its area of coverage.
While commending the initiator and organiser of the competition, Comrade Mulade, the education commissioner noted that the programme will promote peace among the Itsekiris, Ijaws and Urhobos in the area.
In his opening remark, the organizer of the the quiz and essay competition, Comrade Sheriff Mulade said the event is an annual competition aimed at bridging the education gap between the Riverine/Rural Schools and their urban counterparts.
“The competition among other things will enable students in coastal schools to have full taste of what they have been denied of overtime in terms of academic competition and exposure as well as also making new friends through the competition”, Mulade stated.
He added that the programme also aimed at promoting and sustaining the existing peace among the ethnic nationalities in the communities within the three Warri Local Government Areas, particularly the Ijaws, Itsekiris and the Urhobo people.
Mulade, who is the Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), said the competition is aimed at promoting educational awareness in the Riverine/Rural Communities as well as to encourage students to pursue their education.
He appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and all governors in the South-South region to prioritize the development of education in their respective state for the benefit of the region.
