Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that the state has finalized plans to host the most colorful edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) scheduled for November. Sanwo-Olu provided security on Thursday by receiving a delegation from the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) led by Director General Chief Segun Runsewe, the main organizers of the festival. According to a statement issued by Runsewe, the delegation was at the governor’s office to formally present a blueprint for the festival and determine the state’s level of readiness to host the 2022 edition of the festival. The Nigerian News Agency reports that NAFEST is an annual cultural festival that brings together contingents from all 36 states of the federation and the FCT in a host state to showcase the nation’s diverse cultural heritage in arts, crafts and everything. Sanwo-Olu said that a delegation from the state had visited NCAC for an inaugural pre-NAFEST meeting to interact and get details on the organization of the festival. He said that according to the report, the state government had to upgrade its facilities to meet all the criteria set by the NCAC. He noted that this was done to allow the state to not only host the biggest and most colorful festival, but also emerge as the overall winner of the party. He revealed that as a prelude to the festival, Lagos State will hold a Pre-NAFEST event for seven days. He said that this was aimed at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of all local government areas in the state which would therefore herald EkoNAFEST 2022. In his response, Runsewe congratulated the Lagos State Government for winning the hosting right. for NAFEST 2022, which was heavily contested by three other states. He said that the festival, which is the most important cultural event in Nigeria, had been a platform to unite the nation through art and culture. He reiterated that the festival, which gets richer, bigger and better with each edition, will provide a solid platform for the state, which is the center of excellence, to bring its well-known finesse to make EKO NAFEST 2022 the best of its type in the history of the festival given its trajectory. “The essence of the visit is that we interact and inform you about the details of the organization of the festival that will bring together contingents from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT in the state of Lagos for seven days,” he said. He explained that the festival would have far-reaching benefits for Lagos residents with a positive impact on the state’s economy in the areas of hotel accommodation, transportation, small-scale businesses and vendors. Runsewe expressed the need for the state’s Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to work closely with the National Organizing Committee (NOC) for effective coordination. According to him, the governor’s wife, Ms. Ibijoke Sonwo-Olu, will be crowned NAFEST mother, “Mama NAFEST 22”, during the national technical stakeholders meeting to be held at the end of the month. “This will also give you the platform to host the children during Eko NAFEST 2022,” she said. The highlight of the meeting was the exchange of cultural gifts between the Governor and the NCAC CEO.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
