Port Harcourt, Nigeria — Ten public secondary schools across Rivers State demonstrated their creativity, leadership, and commitment to safer roads during the Rivers State Competition of the 2025 VIA Programme for Safe Mobility, held on July 18, 2025, at Building K, Plot 25, Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt.

The event marked another major milestone in the ongoing nationwide VIA Programme, a youth-focused road safety education initiative launched in Nigeria in May 2025 by TotalEnergies in partnership with NNPC, and supported by the TotalEnergies Foundation. The programme is implemented locally by GreenLight Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to promoting road safety and sustainable development.

At the Rivers State competition, students showcased solutions to mobility risks they identified around their school communities through risk-mapping exercises. Their presentations came alive through artistic posters, poetry, drama, and music all centered on creating safer journeys for schoolchildren and communities.

Community Secondary School Rumuokwurushi clinched 1st place, followed by Model Girls Secondary School Mgodo-Aluu in 2nd, and Government Girls Secondary School Orominieke in 3rd. All three schools impressed the judges with their thoughtful analysis and engaging advocacy.

The VIA Programme in Nigeria currently spans Abuja (FCT), Lagos, and Rivers State, directly engaging 600 students from 30 public secondary schools. Through classroom sessions, creative performances, peer-led campaigns, and state-level competitions, students become VIA Ambassadors—youth advocates for safer and more sustainable mobility.

Winners from each state competition will proceed to the National Finals, where one school will be selected to represent Nigeria at the International VIA Finals in France later this year.

By empowering young people with road safety education and platforms to advocate for change, the VIA Programme continues to build a generation of informed, responsible, and safety-conscious road users across Nigeria.

Signed
Patience Agabi
Communication Lead
GreenLight Initiative.