Parents have been urged to prioritise religious knowledge alongside Western education for their children to enable them to become responsible leaders.

The call was made by the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, while speaking at the grand finale of the 1447/2025 Kwara State National Quranic Recitation Competition in Ilorin.

Represented by the Majority Leader in the House, Abdulkadir Oba-Magaji, the Speaker described the initiative as a good one that will also attract reward in the hereafter. He assured attendees of the determination of the House to make legislations that will support children's education in the state.

In his lecture, the guest speaker, Professor Badmas Yusuf, represented by Dr. Mohammad Jumma-Dasuki of the Department of Religion, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, said the verses of the Holy Qur'an indicate the importance of acquiring religious knowledge.

According to him, the virtues of good character, guidance, and mercy, as mentioned by God in the Holy Qur'an, should be imbibed by all Muslims. Professor Yusuf urged Muslims to seek more knowledge of the Qur'an and to work in line with its commandments.

In his address, the Chairman, Kwara State Committee on National Quranic Recitation Competition, Alhaji Shehu Abdulgafar, said the competition followed a staged process, starting from the ward level to the state level.

He said the aim is to select the state's flag bearers for the forthcoming national competition scheduled to hold in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Alhaji Abdulgafar urged the state government and other stakeholders to support the committee to enable it to succeed.

He thanked the state government for providing the enabling environment for the committee to discharge its duties.

The chairman also commended Islamic societies and the proprietors of Islamic schools for presenting their students for the competition.

The winner at the grand finale of the 1447/2025 Kwara State National Quranic Recitation Competition for the first position in 60 Hizb (Qur'an Kamil Wa Tafsir) is Muhammad Yasir Tajudeen from Ilorin West; Abdulwaris Ismail from Offa took the second position, while the third position went to AbdulMajeed Abdulkareem from Offa, Kwara South.

For the female category, Jameelat Tijani from Ilorin South won the first position; Khadijat Ajijolakewu, also from Ilorin South, took the second position; Aishat Adekanye from Offa emerged third; Aishat Kudu from Edu Local Government came fourth; and Aishat Raji from Irepodun took the fifth position.

The grand winner went home with a cash prize of N120,000; the second-position winner received N100,000; and the third-position winner got N80,000. The female category winners received N100,000, N80,000, N50,000 and N25,000, respectively.