Ogun State has emerged winner of the Year 2022 Southwest Zonal Final of the President's Inter-Secondary School Debate Championship, defeating Lagos State in the final.

Speaking during the Grand-finale of the Championship, held at the Valley View Auditorium in Abeokuta, to commemorate 2022 Democracy Day, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun said the debate is imperative for students to boost their confidence, remove the fear of speaking in public and develop critical thinking habit.

Prince Abiodun, represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary and Secondary Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo described the debate as one of the major tools in education that promotes critical thinking skills, creativity, and vocabulary prowess, effective communication, healthy competition, and also instill confidence in learners.   

"Importance of debate is about building learners for the future and these learners have proven to us that they are great, creative, skillful, with good critical thinking abilities and we need to encourage them the most by stepping up debate in our schools", Arigbabu said.

He expressed gratitude to the President's School Debate Nigeria (PSDN) and the Federal Ministry of Education for collaborating with the Ogun State government to organise the programme for the betterment and upliftment of learners.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye, explained that qualities of a good debate such as assertiveness, persuasiveness, good body language, and effective communication among others are major virtues that students needed to succeed in a 21st-century economy.                  

The Chairman, National Advisory Board, PSDN, Hon. Mohammed Usman represented by the Northwest National Coordinator, Prince Musa Kanoma said the championship was inaugurated during President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime with the aim of inculcating the spirit of teamwork in learners and thereby helping them achieve the same goals for the good of the Nation.

Speaking, the winner of the tournament, Daniel Ajiboye from Ogun Team noted that the championship had given him more experience and brought him into the limelight.