Five students from Abia State’s public schools have brought Nigeria the top team honour at the 2026 International Schools Debate Championship in Doha, Qatar, defeating competitors from several countries in a field of more than 84 groups.
Competing as Team Nigeria under the Presidential School Debate Nigeria platform, the students won the Best International School Debate Team award, the biggest prize of the championship. They also collected the Overall Best Team – Junior Category award, Best Leadership Award, Best Debater Award and 12 additional laurels for outstanding performances.
The Nigerian delegation comprised Simon Divine, Ifeanyichukwu Prisca, Akamnonu Franklin, Chikodi Maureen and Christian Chinweotitom Esther, all students from Abia public schools.
Their campaign took them through preliminary rounds against teams from the Philippines, Jordan, India and Qatar before they advanced to the finals. The championship brought together teams from eight countries, including Jordan, India, Qatar, the Philippines and Kenya.
The 2026 competition was coordinated by the Vocara Institute and hosted by the QatarDebate Centre at Georgetown University in Doha. Established in 2008 by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the QatarDebate Centre is Qatar’s national debating organisation.
The Abia delegation was led by the Executive Chairman of the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, Amb. Lydia Onuoha, alongside representatives of the Presidency and Presidential School Debate Nigeria.
The result has been welcomed in Abia as evidence of the academic capacity developing within the state’s public-school system.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alex Otti, Ukoha Ukoha, said the performance demonstrated the intellectual strength of Abia students and reflected what he described as the strength of the state’s new education model under Governor Alex Otti.
“This historic victory has once again demonstrated the strength of Abia’s new education model under Gov. Alex Otti and the intellectual capacity of students in Abia public schools. The Abia Debate Team has made Abia and Nigeria proud,” Ukoha said.
The Commissioner for Basic Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi, said the achievement was consistent with the state’s efforts to transform its education sector.
“We feel elated now. What we are doing is that we are transforming the educational sector, and this outcome now is one of the expectations, and they are indicators that what we are doing is working,” he said.
Ubochi said the students would be hosted and celebrated when they return, alongside other Abia students who have distinguished themselves in competitions.
He disclosed that a student from the state had also won the national essay competition organised by the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, ANCOPSS.
“We have a handful of them that we’re going to celebrate,” he said, adding that the state was waiting for the returning contingents before organising a celebration for students who have represented Abia successfully in different competitions.
The Doha performance adds an international distinction to the record of Abia’s public-school students and places their academic achievement alongside the growing number of Nigerian student accomplishments being recorded beyond the country’s borders.
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