The Commander of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Imo State Command, Mr Reuben Apeh has expressed confidence that the just concluded quiz exercise organized for secondary schools in the state would yield positive results in the lives of the students.
Apeh speaking at the quiz competition held at Government College Owerri marking the NDLEA 2022 Drug Year, said that the exercise would go a long way in assisting students to become ambassadors of the war against drug abuse.
He said: “This programme will go a long way in helping the students to stay away from drug abuse as they grow and avoid its adverse consequences. It is our own little way of catching them young.”
Speaking at the event also, the patron of the NDLEA and traditional ruler of Umuororonjo autonomous community, Owerri municipal council area of Imo, His Royal Highness, Eze Clinton Nzeh, described the event as an encouraging step in the right direction.
He called for increased funding of the NDLEA in Imo so as to enable the command to carry out more public sensitisation.
He said: ” the best solution to drug abuse is avoidance “, which can be achieved through adequate public enlightenment.”
Meanwhile, Young Scientists’ College, a secondary school in Owerri has emerged the overall winner of a quiz competition.
The school emerged overall winners after a quiz and other competitions in Owerri to bring an end to week-long activities marking the UN’s International Drug Abuse Week.
Other competitions include a cultural dance and indoor activities such as ‘Pick and Act’ where the students were expected to play the role of specific characters and ‘Speak Out’, which involved public speaking on the year’s theme: “Addressing Drug Challenges in Health and Humanitarian Crisis.”
Other participating schools include Owerri City School (2nd position) and Government Secondary School (3rd position), as well as the Girls Secondary School, Ikenegbu; Emekuku High School and Government Technical College, Owerri, with the 4th, 5th and 6th positions respectively.
Announcing the results, the Head of the panel of judges, Dr Gabriel Oche, a lecturer with the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri said that the aim of the competition was to further acquaint the students with the dangers inherent in drug abuse.
He advised the students to accept the outcome of the competitions with a spirit of sportsmanship adding that ” in every healthy competition, a winner would always emerge.”
He described it as healthy competition and a winner must emerge while urging them to accept the results in a spirit of sportsmanship and take home the lessons from the competition.
He said: “It is my pleasure to announce that the Young Scientists’ College, having scored 19 points in the quiz competition, is hereby announced the winner of the year 2022 secondary schools quiz competition to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse in Imo.”
The representative of the Young Scientists’ College, Miss Vivian Marcel, aged 15, thanked the NDLEA for organising the event and her teachers for equipping her with the requisite knowledge to represent the school.
