Rivers State has emerged winner of the President’s School Debate Nigeria 2026 competition, which featured secondary school students from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The competition ended yesterday in Port Harcourt, with Kwara State finishing second and Sokoto State placing third. Speaking at the grand finale, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, represented by Imaobong Oluwa-Ikwere, said the competition demonstrated the intellectual capacity of Nigerian youths to contribute constructive solutions to national challenges.
The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, represented by his Deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to initiatives that promote excellence and contribute to the state’s development. The Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr Peters Nwagor, said all public secondary schools in the state participated in the selection process before the best five students were chosen to represent Rivers State.
Following their victory, Team Rivers will represent Nigeria at an international debate competition. The team received five hundred thousand naira, while Kwara and Sokoto States received three hundred thousand and two hundred thousand naira respectively. The Best Speaker, Sharon from Team Enugu, received two hundred and fifty thousand naira.
The students also presented Awards of Excellence to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the Best Governor in the South-South and Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas as the Best Governor in the North-Central.
