Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade has commemded Dangote Industries ltd for sponsoring the maiden edition of African Food festival Calabar.
Declaring the festival open, the Governor who was represented by his wife, Dr. Linda Ayade lauded the exemplary attitude of Dangote Group in sponsoring events especially the now rested Children’s Carnival.
With the African Food festival replacing the Children’s Carnival, she said that Dangote Group stepped in as the pioneer sponsor of the event proving that the Group is truly committed in partnering all stakeholders for a better Nigeria.
Dr. Ayade said that the food festival is designed to bring together different cuisines in Africa “as the continent is very rich in tasty cuisines”.
She added that through the partnership of the sponsors, cuisines from different nations have been gathered in Calabar and urged all present to savour the taste of the cuisines available.
In her welcome address, the convener of African Food festival, Calabar, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, said the food festival aims to unite all tribes in continental Africa through their respective cuisines. She said that the maiden food festival is to showcase African dishes and culinary skills adding Cross River State is very rich in dishes.
Giving an insight on how the food festival evolved, she said “In Calabar we have our cuisine, you go to Ibo they have their cuisine, you go to Yoruba they have their cuisine, in Hausa, they have their cuisine,” adding that the idea of having all of these under one roof was sold to Governor Ben Ayade whom is open to ideas and He bought it and fused it to the Calabar festival Calendar.
According to a statement, Ita-Giwa commended Dangote Group for its partnership which enabled the food festival to become a reality. She said that since the cessation of Children’s Carnival, Dangote Group stopped participating in Calabar Carnival but with the introduction of Food festival, the Group is back.
She described Dangote Group as a leader in the food industry with subsidiaries as Dangote Flour, Dangote Sugar, NASCON and Dansa as proven leaders in their respective sectors.
The Convener also called on industries and investors to take advantage of the abundance of food and cuisines in Cross River and invest in the state.
