Master Caleb Madu of Grundtvig International School, Oba in Anambra, on Wednesday, won the South-East zonal finals of the 2022 National Science Quiz Competition organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Madu, 16-year-old SS2 student, scored 55 points followed by Master Ebenezer Obinna representing Imo with 45 points and Master Gracia Chima, representing Ebonyi with 40 points.
Others are: Miss Nneoma Odo representing Enugu State who got 35 and Master Chukwuka Ugwumba, representing Abia got 10 points.
The students were tested in five core science subjects that included: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English language.
The representatives of the first three states – Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi – would proceed to the national finals in NNPC Towers in Abuja to represent the South-East zone.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the competition in Enugu, Madu said that he would work hard to become a Petroleum Engineer in the near future.
He assured South-East people that he and his colleagues would make the zone proud at the finals at the national level.
“I am going back to school to put in more serious study and hard work ahead of the national finals in Abuja,” he assured.
Earlier, Mr Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC Ltd, said that over the years, NNPC had made intervention in the education and capacity development areas, a fulcrum of its approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Muhammad, represented by Mrs Doris Ozoemena-Ohia, Manager, Community Impact Investment, noted that it had become imperative to groom a pool of highly trained youths who would be available to take up key positions in the company and in the Nigerian energy sector.
He explained that the first stage of the competition covered the 774 local government areas of the country.
“After competitions at the council area level, we moved to the state and now we are having the finals among the five South-East states.”
The Group General Manager said that with the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, by President Muhammadu Buhari, further impetus had been given to the NNPC to increase its positive impact in the lives of Nigerians.
Speaking, Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uchenna Eze, lauded NNPC for promoting education especially science education and assisting science students and schools to further uplift the standard of science education in the country.
Eze, who was represented by Mr Margaret Ayogu, Director of Science Education in the state, urged science teachers to take advantage of NNPC annual quiz competition to better the lot of their students and help them secure scholarships.
