Oyo State has rounded off its sterling performance in the 2019 National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) tagged Edo 2019 by winning gold, silver and bronze medals.
The State contingency came 5th out of 29 States that participated in the edition, a feat adjudged the best in the history of its participation.
According to the panel of Umpires, Oyo State would have come 3rd, but due to the tallying of points by Ogun, River, Edo, Bayelsa and Delta States for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranks and Oyo State had to drop to the 5th position.
In distinguishing the brilliant display by the state contingent, its children cultural dance troupe was rated the best and made to perform before Her Excellency, the Wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Bene Obaseki.
As announced at the end of the event, Oyo State came 1st in Children Cultural Quiz, 2nd in Children Arts and Craft, 4th in Traditional Board Game( Ayo) and 5th in Drama competitions.
While receiving the awards and certificates on behalf of the Oyo State Government, the General Manager, Oyo State Council for Arts and Culture, Mrs. Olayinka Adedeji, praised the team for making the State proud.
She commended the current administration led by Engineer Seyi Makinde for the moral and financial support given to the State to participate in this year’s event.
The last time Oyo State attended the annual festival was in 2012.
In his reaction, the Commissioner for Information Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatubosun lauded the delegation for the sterling performance in the Culture and Arts carnival.
He also commended Governor Seyi Makinde for the support given to the troupe to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Oyo State, reiterating the administration’s promise to resuscitate and promote the cultural heritage in all the local government areas of the State.
“The performance of the State’s contingency has again proved that a new Oyo State that will best others in any competition, be it in education, culture, commerce, security, health and public infrastructure is here, we salute the unrelenting attitude of our young ones who participated in the 2019 NAFEST Festival and we will always support them whenever the need arises.
“No doubt that Oyo State is the home of culture and we are not relenting in showcasing this to the outside world, as this important aspect of life will also serve as a source of revenue generation for the State,” he declared.
Hon. Wasiu Olatunbosun, PhD.,
Hon. Commissioner,
Min. of Information, Culture & Tourism,
Oyo State Government.
