Five entries have qualified for the 2019 African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) 6th continental Essay Competition after conclusion of work on 141 entries from students of tertiary institutions across the country, by the inter-ministerial screening committee.
The topic for this year’s competition is, “The Role of Standardization in Winning the Fight against Corruption for Sustainable African Transformation”.
A statement from the office of the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Osita Aboloma Esq. disclosed that 81 of the entries met the initial requirements of validation by the respective institutions of the participants.
The five winning entries have qualified to participate in the continental version of the annual essay competition put together by ARSO to promote knowledge in standardization amongst undergraduates across the African Continent, the statement said.
It stated further that the 2019 topic is aimed at bringing out the following amongst others;
1. Benefits of the fight against corruption within Africa.
2. Status and challenges of corruption within Africa.
3. The fight against corruption as a catalyst to Africa’s growth for improving the quality and standards of products and services in Africa.
4. The benefits to Consumers, Manufacturers, Suppliers, Regulators and the Government.
5. Specific benefits of anti-corruption and anti-bribery standards to Consumers, Manufacturers, Suppliers, Regulators and the Government
The SON statement listed the five qualifiers for the 2019 continental competitions as follows:
| PARTICIPANT’S CODE. | NAME | INSTITUTION | SCORE | POSITION |
| 039 | Evan-Ibe Savictor Sobechi | University of Nigeria, Nsukka | 72.059 | 1ST |
| 055 | Ndubisi Chibuzor Paul | University of Nigeria, Nsukka | 71.529 | 2ND |
| 013 | Eze Ifunaya Nnaemeka | Federal University of Technology, Owerri | 69.059 | 3RD |
| 021 | Kingsley Alumona | University of Ibadan, Ibadan | 68.059 | 4TH |
| 040 | Eze Ebuka Harrison | University of Nigeria, Nsukka` | 68 | 5TH |
The statement applauded the outstanding number of entries this year, relative to previous years’ competitions. It noted that the level of awareness of standardization issues has significantly increased in Nigeria as indicated by the number of entries.
Three anti-corruption institutions were co-opted into the inter-ministerial screening committee for the consideration of this year’s essay namely, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
