Category: Education & Innovation

The students of Lumen Christi International High School, have won the 2017 SEPLAT Pearls Quiz competition. The annual competition now in its 6th edition is organised by SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company PLC, operators of the NPDC/SEPLAT JV assets, OML 4, 38 & 41.

Lumen Christi International High School was represented by Kingsley Okafor, Cletus Ifedhor and Clinton Opara with each one of them receiving scholarships worth ₦100,000 and ₦7 million for their school.

Rejoice Imiebenomo Eromosele, Destiny Ekanioe and Mary Omo Ijogbe from Russel International Group of Schools, Benin City, Edo State emerged second and also won scholarships for themselves and a cash prize of ₦3 million for their school while the students of Delta Steel Company Technical High School, Ovwian, Aladja, represented by Uzezi Omaduvie Henry, Dorothy Ezekiel and Success Nwajei placed third also received scholarships and ₦1 million for the school.

According to Austin Avuru, MD/CEO of SEPLAT:

“This is the one [programme] dedicated to education and excellence. We have one dedicated to healthcare. This is designed to promote exceptional and responsible leaders. That is what this quiz competition is designed for.

It is still a programme we are very proud of. Through this programme we have awarded 45 scholarships, we have implemented projects in 12 schools. In the first four editions, the first prize was a Toyota Hiace bus. We changed that so that we don’t impose a vehicle on a school that doesn’t even need it.

What we do now, the first prize we execute ₦7 million worth of projects in the school. Give ₦100, 000 to each of the participating students. Second prize we execute ₦3 million worth of projects in the school and ₦75,000 to each of the students. For the third prize we execute ₦1 million worth of projects and ₦50, 000 for each of the students. There are other consolation prizes of ₦10,000 each that is given out to 105 schools since inception.”

Mr. Austin Avuru further explained that this is the sixth edition of the SEPLAT Pearls Quiz competition, which took off in 2012 with no less than 900 schools from Edo and Delta states participating annually.

Chiedu Ebie, Commission for Basic and Secondary Education, Delta State, who represented the state Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, said that the Delta State Government understands the importance in investing and building human capacity, particularly education.      

Explaining that the state was delighted to be hosting the event this year, he said that quiz competitions are aimed at building the spirit of healthy competition among students but the Seplat Pearls Quiz Competition in Delta and Edo states aims further than that.

According to Chiedu Ebie:

“It promotes unity and integration among the students of both states. It is a heartwarming story that in the past six years, SEPLAT has successfully held this competition, including awarding scholarships to secondary and tertiary school students.”

Professor Sambo Wali Junaidu of the Arabic Department, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and Shaykh Bello Oke-Are from Ibadan, Oyo state have received Fellow of Arabic Studies in Nigeria (FASIN) Awards.

The FASIN award was given to them by the Academic Society for Arabic Language and Literature in Nigeria (ASALLIN) at the opening session of its 13th National Conference held at the Sokoto State University, Sokoto. The fellows were awarded with respect to their intellectual contributions to the development of Arabic Language and Literature in Nigeria.

Continue reading Sambo Wali And Bello Oke-Are Receive FASIN Awards [2017]

Winners have emerged in the 2016/2017 edition of the Youth Tourism Connect National Essay Competition.

SENIOR CATEGORY
1st position – Ogbaga Sunday (Ebonyi state)
2nd position – Temitope Steve (Osun state)
3rd position – Bello Sarafadeen (Kwara state)

JUNIOR CATEGORY
1st position and winner – Ikoabasi Iyang R. (Akwa Ibom state)

Winners have emerged from the Ecuador-Nigeria Young Writers Short Story contest organised by Abuja Writers’ Forum (AWF) and the Ecuadorian government.

The First Ambassador of Ecuador to Nigeria, Leopold Verdosoto had announced the sponsorship of the Short Story Contest for young writers from Ecuador and Nigeria, at the June 24 Guest Writer Session. There was an appreciable response from all over the country.

The judges which include Professor Zaynab Alkali, Friday Ejilogo and George Bala were given blind copies of all the entries. After careful deliberation, the following entries were adjudged the top five:

1st Prize

Tunde Ososanya, a graduate of Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos. Ososanya clinched first prize with his story ‘Wellington Street’. He is 27 years, and was a participant of the 2015 ANA/Yusuf Ali Creative Writing Workshop in Abuja. In 2016, he published an eBook version of his debut book – a collection of short stories – titled: Later Tonight.

2nd Prize

Jude Valentine Badaki, who holds a BA in English, Professional Diploma in Education (PDE ), and MA in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Badaki clinched second prize with his story ‘Canvas of Colours’. He has published in a number of anthologies, journals and literary websites.

3rd Prize

Nzube Harry Nlebedim, a student of English at the University of Lagos. Nlebedim clinched third prize with his story ‘The Tale of Alvine Chike’. He is a writer, teacher and occasional poet, he has written several short stories and two novellas.

4th Prize

Blessing Akinsehinwa, a legal practitioner, certified arbitrator, blogger and a freelance creative writer. Akinsehinwa clinched fourth prize with his story ‘On The Shores of Death’. He runs a blog kremlinkidd.wordpress.com on which some of his works can be found. He is also a member of professional bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association, Young ICCA and the Abuja Literary Society.

5th Prize

Jojo Altine ElHassan,  a Masters degree holder in Environment and Sustainable Development from the University College London and a Bachelors in Surveying from the University of Wolverhampton. ElHassan clinched fifth prize with his story ‘Killing Me Softly’.

The winners of the Ecuador-Nigeria writing contest [are] published in a bilingual publication (English and Spanish).

Winners have emerged in the first edition of the 2017 PositiveNaija essay competition, themed: How Great Is Nigeria!

The 2017 PositiveNaija essay competition (July 1 – October 1, 2017) is purposed towards informing the world what genuinely makes Nigeria a great country today, which every Nigerian and non-Nigerians should be proud of.

The PositiveNaija annual essay competition aims to encourage Nigerian patriotism, nation building as well as a platform for excellence.

Continue reading Winners of the 2017 PositiveNaija Essay Competition

The School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has emerged winner of the 7th Korea-Nigeria quiz for secondary schools.

The competition was organised by the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) in Nigeria and the FCT Secondary Education Board.

Continue reading School for the Gifted Wins 7th Korea-Nigeria Quiz

Ondo and Ogun States have emerged first at the zonal final of the annual National Quiz Competition sponsored by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The two states tied with 60 points each to beat others in the zone at the zonal final of the competition, which took place at Christ Girls School, Ado-Ekiti.

Lagos and Ekiti States also tied with 50 points each, although Lagos later beat Ekiti to third place when it answered a quick question from the quiz master.

Ekiti State came fourth with 50 points, while Oyo and Osun States emerged fifth and sixth positions with 45 and 40 points respectively.

The three states of  Ondo, Ogun and Lagos would represent the zone at the national level of the competition.

Speaking after the competition, the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Ndu Nghamadu, said that the competition was designed mainly for students in the nation’s secondary schools.

According to him, the competition has  impacted positively on the intellectual attainment of young Nigerians.

He said that the competition had  also provided financial succour to successful contestants who are placed on bursary throughout their university education.

Nghamadu added that many of the winners of the competition had  won academic laurels in tertiary institutions.

Represented by Mr. Gboyega Bello, Nghamadu said that the 2017 edition was the 15th in the history of the competition.

He also said the corporation would  be providing a one-off educational grant of  ₦100,000 each for all state winners of the competition, while a scholarship award of ₦300,000 will be granted per session to the overall winner of the competition.

According to him, second and third place winners will receive a scholarship of ₦250,000 and ₦200,000 respectively per session for the duration of their tertiary education.

In his remarks, Ekiti Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, said that government was ready to partner with any organisation investing in the education sector.

According to the deputy governor, the state government is  committed to enhancing the standard of science-based subjects.