Nwele Chiemerie Stanley, Igwebuike Chiagoziem Johnmark and Oko charity Joan receive top 10 best speakers’ award




Alex Ekwueme Federal University Nduufu-Alike, Ebonyi State continued its extraordinary performances in national and international universities’ debating competitions as it emerged 4th position in public speaking at the 2023 Pan African Debating Championship held at the Université de̒ Lome, Togo from 2nd to 11th December, 2023.




Oko Charity Joan, Igwebuike Chigoziem Johnmark and Nwele Stanley Chiemerie displaying their medals and certificate of recognition for the university at the Pan African Universities Debating Competition in Lome, Togo

 

The competition which drew students from over 100 universities in about 20 African counties like South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Cameroun, Kenya, Zimbabwe and others saw the AE-FUNAI Debating Team led by Igwebuike Chiagoziem Johnmark, a 400 level student of Biotechnology, once again, making Nigeria proud in the comity of African universities, after an incredible outing at Lome, Togo. Other members of the team were Nwele Stanley Chiemerie, a 300 level student of Law and Oko Charity Joan, a 400 level student of Foreign Languages.

 

The University had qualified to represent Nigeria at the 2023 Pan African Universities Debating Championship in Togo at the 10th edition of the All Nigerian Universities Debating Championship held at Veritas University, Abuja from 27th August to 3rd September, 2023, where Oko Charity Joan emerged the overall best in Public Speaking in the country..




Oko Charity Joan, Igwebuike Chigoziem Johnmark and Nwele Stanley Chiemerie showcasing the AE-FUNAI akwaete cloth at the Pan African Universities Debating Competition in Lome, Togo

 

In the keenly contested competition, the 3-man team of the university was rated highly cumulatively which made AE-FUNAI to be ranked 4th best university in public speaking in Africa with a cumulative score of 320 points.




At the individual level, the three students qualified for the Semi-finals of the competition, where they battled it out with other institutions and after further rounds of intense competitions, two of them - Nwele Chiemerie Stanley and Oko charity Joan made it to the grand finale of the championship as the only Nigerian representatives. The two students received the top 10 best speakers’ award while the university was recognized as the overall best participating-university from Nigeria in public speaking.

Oko Charity Joan, Igwebuike Chigoziem Johnmark and Nwele Stanley Chiemerie proudly displaying the Nigerian flag at the Pan African Universities Debating Competition in Lome, Togo




The students also had an incredible run in the debate category of the championship where Igwebuike  Chiagoziem Johnmark and Nwele Chiemerie Stanley represented the university. They clinched first positions in three different rounds during the preliminaries, and subsequently made the list of top debaters at the tournament.




The AE-FUNAI Debating Team is currently ranked as the best in Nigeria in public speaking and sits amongst the top 5 in Africa.

VC, PROF.SUNDAY ELOM

While congratulating the students for their outstanding performance at the African tournament, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sunday Elom commended their prowess, adding that their achievement has put the university on the front burner of international discourse.




He assured the team of his administration’s sustained support and exposure to enable them conquer, not just the African continent but the entire world. He noted that the Language Enhancement Programme (LEP) – one of the flagships courses of the university, will be sustained and expanded because of its astounding benefits to students. According to him, LEP has distinguished the students of the university from their peers in Nigeria in particular and the African continent in general, by inculcating in the students the capacity to communicate effectively in English language and to reason logically.

Kudos!