Faith Baptist College, Port
Harcourt, has emerged the overall winner of the Inter-Secondary School Debate organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria, Rivers State branch.
The College, in a keen competition with  Community Secondary School, Rumuolumeni, at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, last Tuesday scored 77 per cent leaving its co-debator with 75 per cent and with the second position.
Speaking with newsmen shortly offer the competition, the Chairman, Debate Planning Committee, FIDA, Rivers State branch, Mrs Augusta Uche Ezechukwu said the debate was the brainchild of FIDA to engage the students in brain activities that would uplift their educational status instead of being caught up in the web of the children’s   day celebration and play around.
Ezechukwu revealed that the competition was an annual event that had lasted for four years now adding that FIDA had been a strong advocate of academic excellence and poised to fostering student’s commitment to their studies and training them for public speaking and comportment.
She said, “ Under the Child Rights Act, children are allowed to air their views and defend their positions on topical issues. This debate competition is one of the sure ways of achieving this as well as widening their horizons beyond the classroom.”
Commenting on the theme of the debate “Ensuring The Security of Children, Our Collective Responsibility”, Ezechukwu stated that the competition was a platform to building the children’s outspokenness especially with the present security threat around them both at school and home, saying, “thus as part of the programme, the children were given tips on some security signals and how to raise alarm in the face of such threat.”
The female lawyer further urged other NGOs to partner with FIDA to come up with programmes that would uplift the current standard of education and bring out the hidden potentials in the children that would prepare them for future challenges.
The chief speakers of the competing schools, Miss Rachael Dakoru (Faith Baptist College Port Harcourt) and Florence Nlele (Community Secondary School, Rumuolumeni), both lauded FIDA for the giant strides in building up the intellectual standard of the students and called for its continuance.
The competition featured drama and award presentations to the participating and guest schools

Lady Godknows Ogbulu

Executive General Manager, Administration, Total E and P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Peter Igbinovia (left), Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Education, Mr. Michael West (2nd left), presenting books to one of the representatives of the schools, at the 2014 Book Reading/Book Donation ceremony organised by Total in Port Harcourt, recently.