Veritas To Host 1,000 Young Africans At Pan-African Varsities Debate

Veritas University, Abuja, is set to host about 1,000 delegates from universities across Africa for the 2026 Pan-African Universities Debate Championship (PAUDC), scheduled to hold from December 12 to 20 at its Bwari campus.

The championship, themed “The Republic of Reason: Building Africa’s Future Through Debate”, will bring together young Africans to compete in debate and public speaking while engaging in discussions on issues shaping the continent’s future.

Chairman of the Veritas University Senate Committee on PAUDC 2026, Professor Armstrong Idachaba, who announced the championship in Abuja yesterday, said the event would mark the return of the continental university debating community to Nigeria more than a decade after the country last hosted the gathering.

“It is with great pride and a deep sense of responsibility that I formally announce that Veritas University, Abuja, will host the 2026 Pan-African Universities Debate Championship from December 12 to 20, 2026, here in Bwari, Abuja,” Idachaba said.

According to him, the event would be an important moment not only for Veritas University but also for Nigeria, as Abuja would welcome some of Africa’s brightest young minds to compete, exchange ideas and engage with issues affecting the continent.

“For nine days, Veritas University will become a symbolic home for young Africans from different nations, cultures and traditions to meet one another through ideas,” he said.

Idachaba said Veritas University was well positioned to host the continental event, citing its record in debate and public speaking.

He noted that Veritas became the first and remains the only Nigerian university to have won the Pan-African Universities Debate Championship in 2022, while it also emerged champion at the Commonwealth Universities Debating Championship in Rwanda in 2024.

“Our students have continued to distinguish themselves nationally and internationally, including at the World Universities Debating Championship and, more recently, at the All Nigerian Universities Debate Championship, where Veritas returned with three trophies and eleven medals,” he said.

He added that the achievements showed the university’s emphasis on intellectual curiosity, disciplined reasoning, research, courage and clarity of expression.

The chairman stressed that PAUDC 2026 would go beyond a conventional debating tournament, arguing that debate could help young people develop the ability to think critically, challenge assumptions, listen to opposing views and communicate clearly.

“Africa faces difficult questions around governance, economic development, technology, peace, democracy, identity and our place in a rapidly changing world.

“The young people who will inherit responsibility for these questions must be able to think critically, interrogate assumptions, listen across disagreement and communicate with clarity,” he said.

The championship will offer a total prize reward of US$20,000 across key competitive categories, while the winning debate team will receive sponsorship to represent Africa at the next World Universities Debating Championship.

The programme will also feature a Public Speaking Championship, aimed at providing another platform for young Africans to communicate, persuade and inspire.

Other activities will include Voices of a Continent, described as a major civic and intellectual conversation on Pan-Africanism, leadership, citizenship and Africa’s future.

The organisers will also introduce the Legacy Lab, through which promising student-led initiatives will receive mentorship and incubation, with selected projects eligible for seed funding of up to US$5,000.

Idachaba said the initiative was designed to ensure that the ideas generated during the championship could translate into practical projects beyond the event.

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of Veritas University, Rev Fr Prof Hyacinth Ementa Ichoku, assured participants of adequate security and a conducive environment for the event.