Abia State governor, Alex Otti, has hailed debaters from public schools in the State for emerging champions of the 2026 international Debate Championship in Doha, Qatar.
The Abia State contingent, made up of students from public schools, won four major trophies and 12 laurels, defeating six countries to clinch the biggest prize of the tournament – Best International School Debate Team.
The 2026 edition, which was coordinated by Vocara Institute and hosted by the prestigious QatarDebate Centre at Georgetown University, Doha, brought together over 84 groups from 8 countries.
The QatarDebate Centre, founded by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in 2008, is Qatar’s national debating organisation and one of the world’s leading debate institutions.
The Abia public school students, led by the Executive Chairman, Abia State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), Mrs. Lydia Onuoha, and representatives of the Presidency, Presidential School Debate Nigeria, competed against Jordan, India, Qatar, the Philippines, Kenya, and others.
The Abia State team, after scaling through the preliminary rounds, defeating students from the Philippines, Jordan, India and Qatar to reach the finals, emerged as the Best International School Debate Team; The Biggest Award of the Tournament, Overall Best Team – Junior Category, Best Leadership Award, Best Debater Award, raked 12 Laurels for outstanding performance.
The Special Adviser to Governor Otti on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, described the victory by the students as historic, adding that the victory was not accidental, but a direct outcome of Governor Otti’s education revolution – a deliberate, well-funded and compassionate reform of Abia’s public school system.
Ekeoma said: “When this administration came on board, it met a collapsed education sector defined by dilapidated and deserted schools, and demoralised teachers owed many months of salary arrears.
“Governor Otti has changed the story with decisive actions which include the introduction of free and compulsory education by making basic education free and compulsory in all public primary and junior secondary schools; the government removed the financial barrier that kept thousands of children out of school and restored enrolment and dignity to public education.
“The administration has employed about 10,000 new teachers to fill critical gaps, reduce the teacher-pupil ratio, and bring fresh energy and competence into classrooms.
“The government has institutionalised regular capacity-building, training and retraining programmes to equip teachers with modern pedagogical skills and global best practices.
“Payment of years of salary arrears, prompt payment of salaries on or before the 28th of every month, extension of teachers’ retirement age, among other incentives.
“Before now, public schools in Abia were the last resort. Today, they are producing global champions who have beaten private-school students from Asia and the Middle East to win a world trophy for Nigeria.
“Abia has not yet reached its target destination; however, Governor Alex Otti’s promise to rebuild Abia through education is yielding positive results. These children who conquered the world in Doha are living proof that when you invest in people, the world will notice.”