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An Adamawa lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Jeremiah Umar, on Saturday, presented cash prizes of N10.6 million to the winners of a debate competition organised for 35 secondary schools in his constituency.
Speaking at the event, Umaru, representing Akwanga/Nassarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency of Nasarawa state, said that the gesture aimed at promoting quality education within the constituency.
He said that the schools were selected from the 35 electoral wards in his constituency.
Umaru said that he was impressed with the level of confidence and composure of the participants, adding that the students exhibited a high level of intellectual prowess during the exercise.
Umaru, who promised continuous impact on his constituency, also promised to make the debate an annual event, adding that it would encourage networking among the students and expose them to standard best practices.
He further said that the programme was designed to create a strong network for the students and provide them with a platform to build their capacities in public speaking.
“The network they are building today will brighten their academic pursuit in the future and strengthen their public speaking techniques.
”It will also enable them achieve their dreams and aspirations in life with ease,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Command Science Technical Secondary School, Rinze, Akwanga, emerged the overall winner, while Baptist Academy, Wamba and Shepherd International College Akwanga, emerged as first and second runners-up respectively.
The lawmaker presented a cheque of N1 million and five laptops to the overall winner, N700,000 and three laptops to the first runner-up, while the third runner-up had N500,000 and two laptops.
He also presented N500,000 and one laptop to the best speaker, N250,000 and one laptop to the second-best speaker and N150,000 and one laptop to the third-best speaker in the competition.
The lawmaker equally presented N200,000 and educational materials to each of the remaining 32 schools that participated in the debate.
NAN.