Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu has commended former Governor Donald Duke for daring to dream big, saying the vision of Duke, born in 2005, has enhanced the status of Cross River State as a tourism destination.
“Carnival Calabar transcends two decades of ingenuity, resilience, continuity and of course sustainability.
He said, “I recognize Governor Duke, who pioneered this vision, and Governor Imoke, who later came to sustain it. Governor Ayade showed extreme resilience because even though COVID hit the world, we still had to see Carnival through.”
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The Governor expressed hope that the event would be seen as one of the most important in the tourism calendar of Cross River State.
“So you will be very reassured of our very high regard and the fact that we want repeat performances as we continue to add very different things all the time. Today's event is very important, and really one of the most important events in our tourism calendar”, he said.
According to Governor Otu, the unveiling of the flag featured “some very explosive art forms, calisthenics and very rhythmic dancing, and of course we want all the bands to understand the theme of this year's carnival, which is the marks of the times.”
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“The mark of time captures everything, so we wanted to see it as a perfect piece of art, the way the world will remember Cross River.”
However, the Governor advised both competing and non-competing bands to use this year's theme to hone their skills and show the best of what we want.
