Over the weekend, schools that participated in the sixth edition of Lady Victoria Oyido quiz competition for post-primary schools in Anambra State were presented with gift items worth millions of naira by the Anambra State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Items presented to the students included laptops, plasma television sets, industrial fans, school bags containing assorted books and cash prize of N30,000 each for their West African Senior School Certificate Examination, National Examination Council and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination registration.
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The winning school in the quiz competition was Beth Roots Secondary School, Onitsha; followed by Bubendoff Memorial Secondary School, Adazi Nnukwu, in second position; and the Community Secondary School, Umuoba-Anam, in third position.
The quiz competition, aimed at curbing illicit drug abuse in the state, was sponsored by the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alexander Oyido, who instituted the award in honour of his mother, Lady Victoria Oyido.
The successful schools’ teachers also received cash of N10,000 each.
Presenting the items, the NDLEA commander in Anambra State, Mr. Sule Momodu, expressed satisfaction that the competition had helped in the reduction of illicit drug abuse in post-primary schools.
He commended the state government for approving the establishment of drug-free club in schools.
Mr. Momodu, however, expressed displeasure that some schools are not showing interest in the competition, warning that the NDLEA would end the programme if schools and the Post-Primary School Service Commission (PPSSC) continue to demonstrate lack of interest in the competition.
Earlier in his remark, the sponsor of the programme, Igwe Oyido, said his major interest was to help NDLEA in the fight against illicit drug abuse, which is rampant among students.
While congratulating the winners of the 2019 edition of the competition, Igwe Onyido enjoined other schools that had not participated in the competition to join in subsequent years, in their own interest.
Some of the students who spoke to Tribune Education, including Ogechi Ekwearlor, Johnbosco Umeorah and Stephen Kalu, all agreed that the competition had added value to their academic pursuit.
They promised to be great ambassadors in fighting drug abuse among their peers.
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