Gombe – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday lauded Yobe representatives for beating other competitors in a North East Zonal Secondary Schools Science Quiz it organized in Gombe.
Mr Olutayo Sunny, National Coordinator, NNPC Quiz, said in his remarks at the occasion, that he was deeply touched by the wonderful performance of Yobe students, in spite of the security challenges that had wreaked havoc on the education system in the state
“I am impressed by the performance of Yobe students, in spite of the threat of insurgency, they were able to take the first position,’’ Sunny said.
He said that with this feat, the state would represent the zone at the national level of the competition, to be held in Abuja at a date to be fixed later.
Sunny said that NNPC was solidly committed to the competition because of its belief that education was the key to development.
“The corporation has been sponsoring the competition since 2001, testing the knowledge of participants in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English and Mathematics.
“NNPC has the belief that if you develop a child, you develop a nation because you are preparing him for the task ahead’’ he said.
In her remarks, the Gombe State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Aishatu Ahmed, described the competition as an academic exercise that would impact positively on the children.
Ahmed congratulated the students for their performance and promised that the state would collaborate with the NNPC in the development of science.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Malam Shuaibu Yakubu, the Yobe NNPC Competition Coordinator, said the performance of Yobe representatives took everybody by surprise considering the security challenges that had distorted learning in the state for a long time.
According to him, Yobe is emerging tops at the zonal level of the competition for the first time, a feat that was not attained even when there was peace in the state.
One of the students who represented Yobe, Ismail Mohammed, 18, said he was happy that his state would represent the zone.
Mohammed expressed optimism that they would win the competition at the national level.
Yobe won the competition with 45 points, while Bauchi and Gombe states followed with 40 points each, with Adamawa and Taraba following with 25 and 20 points, respectively.
Students from Borno could not participate in the competition due to some logistic challenges. (NAN)
