By Jonathan Ugbal; Government House Correspondent
No fewer than 15 Governors, Ambassadors and other top government functionaries across Nigeria have confirmed attendance at the 2016 edition of the Carnival Calabar says Cross River Governor, Senator Ben Ayade.
“A lot of governors have indicated that they will be here for our carnival this year” Ayade told Government House correspondents shortly after his arrival at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport from Owerri, Imo state where he alongside a 250 member Carnival troupe from Cross River participated in the Imo Carnival on invitation by Governor Rochas Okorocha.
On the 2016 Carnival Calabar, Ayade said that he had “promised Nigerians and indeed tourists all over the world, (that) this year’s Carnival will be something to remember because of its rich content and it is taking a different dimension.
“I just received a message while on the plane before we took off that an international agency asking to take over the responsibility of driving Calabar Carnival from next year, an indication that it has indeed gone international.
“And so for me, Cross River will soon become a final signature not just for Carnival but for indeed tourism and that is why we are building a special tourism city which is the Calas Vegas to cater to the tourism needs of Nigerians so that we need don’t keep migrating for holidays” Ayade said.
On the Imo Carnival, he said that Governor Okorocha thought it wise to invite the state to attend so that they will be able to learn from the “Masters themselves”.
He said with the way Imo state was going about her Carnival, in a few years time it may challenge the Carnival Calabar.
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