EIGHTEEN-year-old orphan Chineme Ota is the one-day teenage governor of Abia State.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, in 2017, introduced the initiative to encourage young ones to work hard and commit to their dreams.
The maiden edition was won by 14-year-old Joy Ezechikamnayo, who is the senior prefect of Intellectual Giants Christian Academy, Umuahia.
A pupil of Ohafia Girls Model Secondary School, Miss Ota’s victory makes it the second time a female has won the competition.
She, on behalf of her 20-member team, after their inauguration at the Government House in Umuahia, requested that the initiative be sustained to encourage hard work and academic excellence.
Ota made a case for the establishment of a Youth Centre to tackle child abuse, saying as an orphan, she faced challenges but thanked God who saw her through.
The one-day governor thanked Ikpeazu for the opportunity, and called on all to work together for the peace and progress of the state.
Ikpeazu reiterated his administration’s commitment to honour high performing teenagers, and hailed Abia pupils for performing well in public exams in the last four years.
The governor, who urged his teenage counterpart and her team to learn more about good leadership and how to run state institutions, thanked teachers and parents for raising high flying children to take over the mantle of leadership.
He said: “For the first time in the history of the state, and possibly Nigeria, Abia pupils have maintained first position, back-to-back, in the West Africa School Certificate Examination (WASCE) for four consecutive years.
“I am confident that with the modest achievements we have recorded in education in the last four years, and going forward, our future is assured in Abia State. We are not going to rest, but will continue to add to what we have done to ensure that Abia remains No. 1 state as far as education is concerned in Nigeria.”
Leave a Reply