Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade
Cross River cancels 2021 Calabar Carnival over insecurity, Covid-19 Omicron variant
Barely 24 hours after unveiling plans for this year’s edition of the iconic Calabar Carnival tourism fiesta, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has suspended the 2021 edition due to insecurity and the outbreak of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.
Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed this, Monday in Calabar, adding that the decision to suspend the annual festival was reached at a meeting with Gov. Ayade, the State Executive Council members and stakeholders of the carnival.
According to him, the decision to suspend the annual festival was unanimous.
“The gathering was to unveil the theme of this year’s carnival but based on the emergence of the new variant called Omicron and the advice by health experts that it kills faster than other variants, the governor then put it before the stakeholders and it was unanimously agreed that the carnival be suspended.
“The carnival band leaders and other stakeholders agreed that for the purpose of public health and safety, the carnival be suspended.
“Also, there is an emerging security report which indicates that the event may be taken over by some hoodlums.
“To avoid all of these from happening, it was advised that the carnival be suspended so that people are not caught unawares,” Obogo said.
Last weekend, state Commissioner for Tourism and Culture, Mr Eric Anderson, had announced that the annual festival would be held inside the U. J. Esuene Sports Stadium in line with COVID-19 management protocols.
Anderson also added that the stadium would help to control the crowd and space the seating arrangement for people to watch the live show.
