Anambra govt celebrates CKC students who won 2024 World Affairs Challenge Champions

Anambra State Government has celebrated students of the Christ the King College (CKC) Onitsha, who won gold recently in the 2024 World Affairs Challenge competition held in Denver Colorado, United States of America, last month.

The ceremony organised by the CKC management, on Thursday, at the School premises in Onitsha, was grace by the State Education family led by the Commissioner, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh; the Post Primary School Service Commission (PPSSC) Chairman, Prof. Nkechi Ikediugwu; and the ASUBEB Chairman, Dr Vera Nwadinobi.

In her opening remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, who spoke on behalf of the government, said that the students deserved commendation for making the state and Nigeria at large proud through the feat.

She noted that Christ the King College Onitsha is one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria.

“On behalf of Mr Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, we congratulate and celebrate the devotion, consistency and unwavering excellence, brighter future, children who are going to take us to the promised land. We’re here to celebrate the brightest and greatest. Amidst Nigeria’s numerous woes, I see light at the middle of the tunnel. Our future is no longer a mirage. I also see solutions to our environment with this crop of students.”

The chairman of Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), Dr Mrs Vera Nwadinobi, commended the school, particularly the Principal, who she described as passionate, especially concerning mentoring young minds.

On her part, the chairman of the PPSSC, Prof Mrs Nkechi Ikediugwu praised the school for setting the pace for others, saying, “We’re proud of you for defeating US, Turkey and other countries that participated in the tournament.”

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Earlier, the Principal of CKC, Rev. Fr. Dr. Celestine Arinze Okafor, described the feat recorded by the students as an invitation to the path of impactful education.

“This is a competition that challenges you to know the issues, think through them and find a practical solution by developing a project. And this is not the end of it; you have to market the ideas to others so they can use your solution to solve the problem which affects us all.

“Anambra has always been a vanguard in Nigeria education and I’m confident that innovative and solution-oriented education will come from Anambra to Nigeria and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa,” he added.

The students; Ekufu Ernest, Obuna Somtochukwu, Agbanaje Ifechukwu, Umeodinka Emmanuel, Ejike Ekene, and Ubah Jason, led by their coach, John Onuigbo, received the award certificates from the commissioner who also delivered the school certificate to the principal. 

Tribune Online gathered that the World Affairs Challenge organised by WorldDenver, empowers high school students to develop innovative solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and in this year’s edition, the students tackled critical issues like climate change, poverty and inequality.