Students from public schools in Abia State, representing Nigeria, have emerged as overall champions at the 2026 International Schools Debate Championship in Doha, Qatar.

The team won four major trophies and 12 laurels after competing against students from six countries to clinch the biggest prize of the tournament, the Best International School Debate Team award.

This was according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alex Otti, Ukoha Ukoha, on Sunday.

The 2026 edition, coordinated by the Vocara Institute and hosted by the QatarDebate Centre at Georgetown University, Doha, brought together over 84 groups from eight countries.

The QatarDebate Centre,’founded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in 2008, is Qatar’s national debating organisation.

Team Nigeria, presented by Presidential School Debate Nigeria and fully represented by Abia public school students, competed against teams from Jordan, India, Qatar, the Philippines, Kenya and others.

The team, led by the Executive Chairman of the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, Amb. Lydia Onuoha, and representatives of the Presidency and Presidential School Debate Nigeria, comprised Christian Chinweotitom Esther, Chikodi Maureen, Akamnonu Franklin, Ifeanyichukwu Prisca and Simon Divine.

The team scaled through the preliminary rounds, edging out students from the Philippines, Jordan, India and Qatar to reach the finals.

At the end of the championship, Team Nigeria won the Best International School Debate Team award, described as the biggest award of the tournament.

Other awards won by the team included Overall Best Team – Junior Category, Best Leadership Award, Best Debater Award and 12 laurels for outstanding performance.

Reacting, Ukoha said, “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.”

Also reacting in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the state Commissioner for Basic Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi, said, “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”.

“Let them come back first. When they come back, we are going to host and celebrate them. They are not the only ones. There are others that we are going to unveil by the time we celebrate all our victors together, the winners.

“We have a lot of them. One student won the national essay competition organised by the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) nationally. So we have a handful of them that we’re going to celebrate.

“So we are waiting for them to come back. We will organise when we will celebrate all the contingents that have represented us well in one form of competition or the other.” (The PUNCH)

•The Executive Chairman of the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, Amb. Lydia Onuoha, flanked by the triumphant students. Photo: Abia State Government

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