Blessed Child Academy Emerges Winner of Okocha’s Quiz Competition

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Blessed Child Academy has emerged as the winner of the first edition of Chief Tony Okocha Academic Excellence Challenge Quiz and Essay Writing contest in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Also on individual category, Praise Okirie, a student of the University of Port Harcourt came tops in the essay writing competition.

The founder of the programme, Tony Okocha, thanked the participating schools and the organisers for making the event a success. He stressed confidence in the transparency of the panel of judges that brought about the winners.

Okocha, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, promised to make the competition an annual event and thanked the facilitator, Endwell Otonnah, who he said is the brain behind the competition.

Praising the participants of the quiz and essay competition organised for secondary schools and students of tertiary institutions in the state, Okocha said he desires the best for Rivers State.

Okocha, who is also the Rivers State representative on the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), said education remains the best tool to fight criminality in the society.

“It is right to say education is a very potent tool to fight criminality in our society. This is what we expect. It’s better that we fight criminality through education as education assembles the minds of the individual not to go into social vices. So, I am very grateful that I am part of what is happening here today.

“This event is an opportunity to reach out to the society, and again it affords us the opportunity to show ourselves as not only people who are causing problems but people who can give to society,” he stated.

He disclosed that as part of his educational support, he had previously bought 200 JAMB forms for indigent students in the state. He assured that the competition would be expanded and improved in subsequent editions.

THISDAY observed at the grand finale that Blessed Child Academy scored 270 points to emerge the overall winner of the quiz competition and received a cash award of N200,000. Praise EL School came second with 255 points and N150,000, while Domino Pizza Memorial School came third with 253 points and went home with N100,000.

Also, Praise Okirie scored 98 per cent and received N200,000 and a laptop. The first runner-up, Nwosu Chukwurah, scored 95 per cent and received N100,000 and a phone, while the second runner-up, Nwanfor Chukwuka, who scored 90 per cent, went home with N100,000.

Speaking with journalists, Okirie said he did not expect to win as that was his first ever essay competition.

“This is actually a boost for me because I have never ever contested for something like this before. I want to tell my mother I made her proud. I want to tell my father I made him proud. At least this will spur me to greater exploits,” he stated.