Press conference of the 2017 Aba festival.
The Edo state government through the Ministry of Culture Arts and Tourism has pledged her support to get the Historic Aba festival endorsed by the National Council of Art and Culture (NCAC).
At a press conference on Monday organized by Etuno Youth Association (EYA), the state government, represented by a Director in the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tour-ism, Mrs Kate Ibe, outlined the activities to mark the event which will hold on the 25th of August 2017.
Representatives of the Edo State Government
Ibe said that the festival had been documented and forwarded to the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) for endorsement.
She said: “The Aba festival is the first festival in our list; we have sent the list to NCAC for proper identification. Every festival in Edo State was submitted; they have been documented and will be sent to the international bodies. We are not leaving you alone.”
Mr. Patric Orisaremi, President of EYA.
In his opening speech, the president of EYA, Mr. Patric Orisaremi, said EYA is already putting all plans in place to make the forth-coming Aba festival a memorable one and one to be reckoned with across the world. He stressed that since the inception of the festival which takes place every 6 years, the 2017 Aba festival, which is the 38th, will surpass the preceding ones. In his words, Mr. Patric Orisaremi said “In order to make the 2017 Aba festival more colorful and memorable, we have made the Aba festival a week-long event. Each day will be full of colorful activities including: Carnival, Cultural dance presentations (from bands across 9 communities in Akoko-edo), Live concert, Football competition, Gala night etc.”. He further called on the Edo state government, cooperate sponsors, and other concerned bodies to join force with EYA through their support to make the festival a huge success.
The Chairman of the Aba Festival Organizing Committee, Mr. Obed Alli, said that the festival had long been rated by Total E&P in 2006 as the 6th most indigenous cultural festivals in West Africa.
Mr. Obed Alli, Chairman of the Aba Festival Organizing Committee
Tracing the origin of the festival, Mr. Alli said it was celebrated as a victory by hunters over the initial settlers of the land now known as Etuno (Igarra). He further explained that much success has been achieved in the preparation for the forth-coming Aba festival. This he said includes: the endorsement of the festival by the Edo state government, the approval of Guinness Nigeria plc, MTN Nigeria and other companies for sponsorship of the 2017 Aba festival, and the launch of the official Aba festival website. He however called on other cooperate sponsors to lend their support to EYA as the task of making the 2017 Aba festival a success is enormous and capital intensive.
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