WRITTEN BY ABUCHI NWOZOR
Eighteen states emerged winners in the just concluded zonal contests of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) National science quiz competition, held in the six geo-political zones of the country. That of the South East took place in Awka. The successful participants will therefore lock horns at the competition’s grand finale, holding on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at the NNPC Amphitheatre Abuja, beginning at 10am.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Sir Ndu Ughammadu, MFR, whose office is coordinating the National Quiz competition, said that the decision to sponsor the quiz was part of its corporate social responsibility and in furtherance of its quest to positively touch the lives of Nigerians. Sir Ndu said the competition offered the participants a platform on which to interact, exchange experiences and culture, having come from different parts of the country.
Since inception, the competition has been characterized by very keen and healthy contests in English Language and core sciences subjects of Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This is in recognition of the key role the competition plays in supporting the local content development goals of the Federal Government, as it relates to the oil and gas industry.
The annual national quiz competition for secondary schools across the country was introduced following the NNPC’s recognition of the importance of education to the development of Nigeria. No doubt, the competition, which started in 2000, has impacted positively on the intellectual attainment of young Nigerians. It has provided financial succor to successful contestants who have been placed on scholarships throughout their university education. Many of the awardees had moved on to achieve academic laurels in tertiary institutions, locally and internationally. Several years after its inauguration, the horizon of the competition has soared. For instance, it has implemented a core element of NNPC’s Corporate Social Responsibility package, promoted science education in the country and encouraged students in the study of science and technology- related subjects.
On the other hand, the competition has prepared students for examinations, built friendships amongst them and developed students’ competitive spirit. It has also broken down long-held stereotypes and engendered a better sense of national being in participating students, through the cross-cultural interactions that the contest offers, in addition to providing a platform for enlightening the students and the public on the activities of the NNPC.
Apart from the national science quiz competition, the NNPC has allayed fears of possible hiccups in petroleum products supply in parts of the country. Sir Ndu Ughamadu advised motorists and other consumers not to engage in panic buying as the NNPC had adequate storage of petroleum products across the country.
Besides the supply of petroleum products and the national science quiz competition, the NNPC has equally pledged to provide more support to indigenous companies in the nation’s oil and Gas industry. To achieve this, the organization has promised to support all players in the downstream sector of the oil and Gas industry towards efficient product supply and distribution.
In so doing, it has restated its commitment towards continued collaboration with the private sector to develop innovative and profitable solutions that would not only aid the development of the country but also ease the way of doing business. There is also the need for private industries to develop the much-needed critical infrastructure in the country. This will play a role in ending poverty and increasing shared prosperity among the citizenry. We should all join hands in developing the economy for the benefit of all and generations yet unborn.
After all said and done, the NNPC yearly national quiz competition has come to stay. It has encouraged science, technology, engineering and mathematics education towards sustaining the country’s economy by providing the necessary tools to understand the world around us and innovations to solve everyday problems. Really, science and technology are everywhere and have continuously expanded into every aspect of the nation’s lives. The result of the NNPC’s investment in the quiz competition is very visible for all to see.
Many students, who would have ordinarily become school dropouts, have completed their studies with the NNPC’s scholarship and are today in various critical sectors of the nation’s economy. May the competition flourish and expand to include Nigerian students in the Diaspora in order to build on the gains already recorded in previous editions.
NNPC …. Touching your lives in many positive ways!

No related posts.