Calabar carnival to host 25 countries

The 2017 Calabar Carnival in Cross River State would be hosting about 25 countries from across the world.The Chairman, Carnival Commission, Mr. Gab Onah, disclosed this at a media briefing yesterday in Calabar, the state capital.

He said the 32-day annual street party, which started on December 1st, has been sponsored in the past by various organisations, including DSTV.He, however, added that it would soon be 100 per cent funded by the private sector.

According to him: “We started with about 12 countries, but this year we are expecting 22 to 25 countries. And if we get it right, anytime from now we are going to be 100 per cent private funded.”   

On the rundown of activities for the event, he disclosed that Governor Ben Ayade has introduced a lot of exciting products in this year’s festival.This, he said, include the Black African festival that would showcase some African artists on December 26, 2017.

Also, the Special Adviser on Event Management, Mr. Ken Akla, said so much had been done to put security in check for the 32 days.
He explained: “We are coming with lots of activities in this year’s carnival, and as a government we would ensure that we add more value by putting additional input into the festival.

“We are doing plenty of collaborations with the security agencies in the state to ensure that visitors and residents are safe during the festival.”

The state Commissioner for Tourism, Mr. Erik Anderson, added that the carnival would host the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, a music artist, Tuface Idibia and some foreign dignitaries.He listed some of the countries that would be visiting the carnival to include Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Belgium, Ghana and Ireland.