The team from the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has won the youth leadership debate organised by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF).
The UNIBEN team — made up of Omuera Victory Ochuwa, Fayeun Michelle Oluwaseyi, and Okoh Emmanuel — defeated their colleagues from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria at the finale held on October 1.
The debate is a component of the NYFF aimed at providing capacity building to young people across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The competition kicked off in July with entries from 40 tertiary institutions across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
Speaking at the finale, Opeyemi Oriniowo, NYFF project lead, said the success of the debate reflects the unbreakable spirit of Nigerian youths.
Oriniowo added that the initiative gave the youth a platform to amplify their voices amid the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
He also appreciated MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and LEAP Africa for supporting young people in Nigeria for leadership, activism, and social change.
In her remark, Joy Amanabo, senior programmes coordinator for the debate, commended the resource persons who made the programme a success.
In a chat with journalists, the UNIBEN team expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the competition.
They also said the pre-finale residential training has helped shaped their policy analysis, research, public speaking, and leadership skills.
The UNIBEN team got the sum of N1.5 million naira.
The first runner-up – Ahmadu Bello University, and the second runner-up – the University of Ilorin took home one million naira and six hundred thousand naira respectively.
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