Rivers State has emerged winner of the 2026 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Inter-Secondary Schools Debate Championship after a keen contest involving eight schools.
The state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, also commended the winners, describing their victory as “a great feat”.
Team Rivers, represented by Community Secondary School, Abuloma, Port Harcourt, defeated Team Kwara at the grand finale held at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt.
The Chief Adjudicator of the competition and Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Education, Adigun Ayodele, disclosed this while announcing the winners at the end of the competition.
Ayodele also said Sokoto State came third after defeating the representatives from Ebonyi State.
She stated, “The contest was between eight states. At the end of the day, four semi-finalists contested. The semi-finalists are Rivers, Kwara, Sokoto and Ebonyi. From there, the finalists emerged.
“So, we have Rivers and Kwara that contested at the finals. At the end of the day, the first position goes to Rivers and the second position goes to Kwara. Then the third position, which was contested between Ebonyi and Sokoto, saw Sokoto coming third.”
In his address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government was committed to strengthening the education system and developing young people as critical thinkers and future leaders.
Akume, who was represented by a director in the Office of the SGF, Imabong Ekwere, said robust education remained critical to producing citizens with the capacity to question innovations and provide solutions to national challenges.
He stated, “The intellectual vigour displayed by our students at this championship is a direct testimony to the critical need for a robust educational system to build the minds we see here today.
“We must consciously invest in structures and nurture them. It is for this reason that the Federal Government, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has prioritised the capacity-building of our educational institutions, guided by core strategic pillars of our national agenda, most notably education, health and social investment, alongside the digital economy and innovation.”
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has congratulated Team Rivers for emerging champions at the grand finale of the President Inter-Secondary Schools Debate.
Fubara, in a statement issued by his media aide, Onwuka Nseshi, described the students’ victory as “a great feat” and a clear demonstration of the intellectual capacity, brilliance, confidence and preparedness of Rivers children to compete and excel at the national level.
The governor praised the students for their eloquence, critical thinking and teamwork, while also appreciating their teachers, coaches and the Rivers State Ministry of Education for the guidance and support that led to the outstanding performance.
“This victory is a source of immense pride to all Rivers people. It shows that our investment in education and human capital development is yielding results. Our children have once again proven that they are among the best in the country.
“We are proud of you and we will continue to support programmes that build the minds of our young people,” the governor stated.
He assured that his administration would continue to create an enabling environment and provide the necessary support for academic and extracurricular activities in schools across Rivers State to help the youths excel in future competitions.
In his remarks, the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr Peters Nwagor, said the competition had provided an opportunity to identify and nurture the talents of young people, even as he encouraged youths in the state to take advantage of such opportunities to develop their skills and make the state proud.
“This is an opportunity to encourage our students and youths in Rivers State to take advantage of this kind of competition to develop themselves in public speaking, in critical thinking and in doing things that will make the state proud at any point in time.
“His Excellency, the governor, is a man who likes education and school programmes. At an event like this, we will be able to institutionalise school debate in Rivers State.”
Earlier, the National Coordinator of PSDN, Elder Dare Oritu, said eight states participated in the national finals, namely Enugu, Kwara, Delta, Sokoto, Abia, Yobe, Ebonyi and the host, Rivers State.
Oritu said the draws for the championship were held at a public ceremony on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, after which the preliminary debate matches commenced.
He said the winner would represent Nigeria at various Federation Debates World Debate competitions later this year and in 2027, including the World Schools Debate Championship, adding that a formal letter would be presented to the schools at a later date.
Our correspondent, who covered the event, reports that Team Rivers, which emerged as the winner, was rewarded with N500,000 and a trophy, while Team Kwara, which came second, received N300,000. Team Sokoto, which defeated Team Ebonyi to come third, received N200,000.
The best speaker of the competition, Sharon Adigu, was rewarded with N250,000 in cash.
