Ahead of the opening ceremony of this year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST), the Bayelsa State Troupe presented Ineye Johnny-Dudafa’s “Mangrove in the Desert,” a command performance, at the Gloryland Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, to usher in NAFEST 2013, being hosted by Bayelsa State Government.
Bayelsa State, the Glory of all Lands, will be, for the next one week, hosting NAFEST, which is the second biggest and most attended festival that unites Nigerians; and for the past few days, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, has been agog with the arrival of contingents from many states of the Federation.
The Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson and his Deputy, Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), as well as the Honourable Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, top Bayelsa State Government functionaries, and Directors from both Federal and States cultural agencies were at the event.
It will be recalled that the Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, had arrived Yenagoa, a few days earlier to see the level of preparedness and offer from his wealth of experience useful advice to make the event memorable.
The NICO boss, who has been directing and supervising activities all through for a successful NAFEST, is widely known and celebrated in the culture sector as a strong pillar in the repositioning of the Nigerian culture sector.
Clifford Ugwu
Corporate Affairs
NICO SSZ