Imo State contingent to the 35th edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST 2022, lifted the ‘Most Well Behaved and Disciplined State’ trophy.
It also won two golden gongs and one bronze gong at the festival which was concluded at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan Stadium, Marina, Lagos, on Sunday, November 13, 2022.
The contingent led by the state’s Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mazi Uche Ohia competed in six events.
The events are Children’s Music Competition, Traditional Board Game (Ncho/Ayo), Children Essay Writing Competition, Drama Competition, Children’s Crafts Competition, and Traditional Cuisine.
Imo State also participated in parades, Arts and Craft Exhibitions, and Entrepreneurship Roundtable.
In his address at the closing ceremony, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the National Festival of Arts and Culture provided a healthy opportunity for cultural exchanges among Nigerians.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, urged the National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, to sustain the festival with special attention given to those events that make children to understand and promote the country’s cultures.
The Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture and Chairman of the National Festival Planning Committee of Eko NAFEST 2022, Otunba Segun Runsewe, said the Council was packaging NAFEST for export.
He said involving children in NAFEST was “a network that will build the future”, and commended Lagos State Government for hosting, and the states of Nigeria and other agencies for participating in the festival.
The leader of Imo State Contingent and Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mazi Uche Ohia, thanked the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, for regularly sponsoring the state’s contingent to the annual festival and congratulated the members of the contingent on the fruitful outing.
