After a week of diverse cultural activities and keenly contested competitions, Ekiti State on Saturday emerged the overall winner of the 34th edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) which held in Ado Ekiti.
Thirty states contingents and the Federal Capital Territory participated in the week-long festival that commenced last Monday at the popular Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado Ekiti.
At the colourful closing ceremony, Ekiti emerged the overall winner, after taking first positions in Students Essay Competition, Children Arts and Craft competition, Children tales and puppetry competition, Nigeria Fabric for interior decorations competition. River State emerged the second position while Bayelsa and Benue States took the third position.
In his closing remarks, the host Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi described the event as memorable and colourful, adding that the week-long cultural display had demonstrated the splendour, excellence and artistic wealth of the country.
He added that the country was the actual winner of the competitions for being able to demonstrate to the world that there is unity in diversity.
Commending the 30 states and the FCT that participated in the competitions, Dr Fayemi stressed that NAFEST had proved to the world that Nigeria, though different in tribes and tongue, stands in brotherhood, celebrates in diversity and works in unity.
The Governor disclosed that the emergence of Ekiti as the overall winners at the event was a testament to the fact that Ekiti put its best into the competition and demonstrated its stuff as the fountain of knowledge and the Land of honour and integrity.
“I want to commend all the 30 states that was here from the North, the West, the East and the South. This is really unity in diversity.
“ In spite of the challenges we were never deterred to travel from far kilometres to Ekiti State, all the way from Yobe, from Zamfara, from the creeks of Balyesa and Delta from Borno and Sokoto States and of course from the rare forest of the south east they were all here and our people from the southwest are here.
“Yes, we may be different in tribes and tongues but in brotherhood we stand and in diversity we celebrate and in unity we work together to show the world the stuff we were made off in knowledge, in culture, in character, in competence, in hard work that is what we have all come to demonstrate here in Ekiti State over the last one week.
“I want to commend Ekiti for doing an excellent Job but I also want to commend Rivers, Benue, Delta and all of our states for doing an excellent Job in demonstrating the splendour, the excellent, the artistic, wealth that traverse the length and breadth of our country. For us Nigeria is the winner here.”
The Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runwese also presented gongs to the Governor and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi in appreciation for the Hospitality and outstanding support.
