Calavegas band has been announced winner of the 2023 Carnival Calabar which took place Thursday with pomp and pageantry, with Governor Bassey Otu saying the 2023 event was “a tip of the iceberg as compared to what should be expected from 2024.”
A Carnival official who made the announcement at the UJ Esuene stadium where the carnival climaxed, early Friday, said the second place went to Passion 4 while Seagull band came third.
For Children Carnival, which was renamed Junior Carnival, Passion 4 band took the first position, Seagull band was second while Calasvegas took the third. Six competing bands slugged it out for the carnival prize money which was not made public as at press time.
Blueprint reports that military chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye, as well as six Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) of Cross River state origin serving in different places across the country, led by AIG Zone 6 Command, Jonathan Towuru, graced the flag-off.
Other dignitaries who were also present were ministers of Humanitarian Affair and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Beta Edu, as well her Sports Development counterpart, Senator John Owan Enoh.
Speaking while flagging off the event, Governor Otu restated his resolve to ensure the effulgence of the Carnival, which many Cross Riverians believed to have gone to sleep within the past few years, was restored.
“What you are seeing unfolding today is the fulfilment of part of my campaign promise that definitely we will bring Carnival back to its glory days. We are moving to the next level of service to the people of Cross River State.
“This is just a tip of the iceberg. The 2024 carnival will be bigger. We shall continue to work with our sponsors to make Carnival Calabar better so that it would sustain its rating as the biggest street party in the world,” he said.
