Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Prof. Rasaki Bakare, said on Monday that the 2022 Mr and Miss Nigeria International pageant billed to hold in Ekiti State in October would boost the state economy and expose Ekiti to more profitable investments.
Bakare said that the pageant would not only develop youth’s potential but would boost the local economy due to human traffic as was witnessed during the 2021 National Festival of Arts and Culture held in the state.
The commissioner, who spoke in Ado Ekiti while hosting the organisers Mr and Miss Nigeria International contest, lauded them for counting Ekiti worthy of hosting the 11th edition of the event, which was the first time it would be held outside Lagos.
He said, “The beauty of it is that all the beauty queens across the 36 states and the FCT will be camped for 14 days in the reality show preceding the actual event. The short and long terms benefits will be that it will boost our local economy, particularly the hospitality industry.
“Our traders will also enjoy the stay of the contingents as witnessed during NAFEST. It is heartwarming to say that many contingents that came to Ekiti during NAFEST later relocated and now live here. Some of them also do their businesses here. The future benefits of this event may be that some will come back to invest in Ekiti.
“All over the globe, most of the foreign investors first went to such environment as tourists and later invested there and this is what we intend to do with this carnival,” the commissioner said, assuring that the state government would partner security outfits to deploy every strategy capable of guaranteeing safety of lives during the carnival.
The Chief Executive Officer, Brendance and Crusade, producer of Mr and Miss Nigeria International, Mr Brendan Nsikak, said the body decided to give the hosting right to Ekiti State due to giant strides that the state, under Dr Kayode Fayemi, had made in the tourism world.
Nsikak, who led other entertainment experts to the parley, said, “Since we started in 2012, our winners have been doing well globally in the business, academic, and model worlds. Some of them have competed in places like Florida, Bahamas and other countries and won laurels for Nigeria.
“We have held the preceding 10 editions in Lagos, but after reviewing our activities and we asked ourselves which state stood a chance of hosting this edition and we found Ekiti State as the only state that can launch Nigeria to international level going by their exploits in arts, culture and tourism”.
Nsikak stated that the company would expend an estimated sum of N60 million to organise the event and that talks were in top gear to partner companies like Lush, Vitafoam, indomie and other industries interested in the entertainment industry for possible sponsorship.
