Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
Edo State Green Park Academy has emerged winner of the 11th Seplat JV PEARLs Quiz contest which was organised for over 50,000 students from 130 secondary schools in Edo and Delta.
The annual competition, one of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, was executed in conjunction with its Joint Venture partner, the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL).
In the 2022 edition of the competition held at the Imaguero Secondary School, Benin City, Edo State Green Park Academy defeated Deeper Life High School, Warri, Delta State, to win a prize of N10 million sponsored project of their choice, while the three participating students went home with N100,000 scholarship fund.
Deeper Life High School, Warri, got a N5 million sponsored project of their choice with a N75,000 scholarship to the three participating students.
In the third position, the University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School, Benin City, beat International High School, Sapele, Delta, to win a cash prize of N3 million sponsored project with a N50,000 scholarship for each of the three participating students.
All qualified schools and teachers were rewarded with consolation prizes.
Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, the Director of External Affairs and Sustainability, Seplat Energy, Dr Chioma Nwachuku, said the competition was to improve academic performance in both host states and rekindle the spirit of academic excellence and healthy competition among schools and the youth population by motivating, encouraging and rewarding the scholarship spirit.
The Chief Operating Officer of Seplat Energy, Mr Samson Ezugworie, stated that the company took it upon itself to improve education where it operates.
The COO explained the initiative’s impact that the PEARLs Quiz had touched the lives of 51,955 students in Edo and Delta, including over 50 in various universities across the country, while some have graduated.
He added that four have benefited from the undergraduate scholarship scheme, some have undergone industrial training with Seplat Energy, and these students provide a pool for future employment.
Ezugworie added that the PEARLs Quiz helped Delta and Edo states to maintain high pass rates in external examinations such as WAEC while promising that the company will do more in future.
The Managing Director of Western Asset, Ayodele Olatunde, stated that the programme is an avenue of building the future and giving back to the societies, which have given the company the requisite support to operate.
Olatunde thanked Edo and Delta governments for giving Seplat Energy an enabling environment to operate and encouraged students to apply the knowledge they have acquired to keep achieving more.
The Seplat JV PEARLs Quiz is implemented in two stages, the test stage and the competition stage. The test stage is where all schools take qualifying tests, while the competition stage is where all qualified schools go head-to-head, and losers are eliminated until a champion emerges for the year.
All qualified schools from the test stage go home with Seplat-branded laptop bags, exercise books and T-shirts. The qualification test is done online, with Seplat providing data for all entrants. This year, 682 schools took the test, and 130 schools progressed to the next round.
Commending the company for its commitment to education and national development, the Commissioner for Education Edo State, Dr Joan Oviawe, said the educational projects were in line with the state government’s vision for education while stating that the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) remains a big feat.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said the initiative would encourage students to take their studies seriously while mentioning that the exercise has also brought students from Edo and Delta to square up in a friendly atmosphere.
He appealed to other corporate bodies to identify with the communities where they operate.
Representatives of the victorious school stated that the initiative gave them the avenue to showcase their talents and thanked Seplat Energy for the opportunity.
Seplat PEARLs quiz addresses Sustainable Development Goal 4 by ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for both public and private schools in Edo and Delta, thus helping to promote lifelong learning opportunities for the teeming youth population.
