Cross River Govt unveils activities for Leboku yam festival

 

Activities marking 2023 Leboku International Festival in Yarkurr Local Government of Cross River State kicked off yesterday with a news conference at Umor-Otutu palace in Ugep.

<<CLICK/TAP HERE>>

The event, described as one of the largest cultural festivals in Africa, has as its theme: ‘Ugep International Festival, an agro tourism event and a panacea for post COVID-19 economy.’

Governor Bassey Otu said the globally-known festival had come to stay as agro tourism.

Otu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Emmanuel Ironbar, said the government would continue to invest widely and wisely in Leboku Festival, to keep the event on the world map, especially as it represented a celebration of love, peace and fertility for the people of Yarkurr, Cross River State and Nigeria.

“This is the season of sweetness and the sweetness will sweeten the activities of Leboku this year.

“The sweetness of the activity will be seen in the colourful event of the activities on August 20 and 21,” the governor said.

Regretting that the event in the past four years never took place at the stadium, which served as venue of the event, Otu said Leboku would continue to grow from strength to strength, to enable the community get more recognition, adding that the event would continue to create vistas of opportunities for investors nationally and internationally.


The Paramount Ruler of Yarkurr and Obol Lopon of Ugep, Obol Ofem Ubana Eteng, said: “The event takes place after four months of planting, hence it is considered as a celebration after the hunger period.”

He said the date of the celebration is not changed, as “Leboku Festival is not marked by Gregorian calendar, but follows our traditional calendar.”

“Leboku will continue, there is no year it will not hold. It is our major celebration. Even if you schedule elections for August 20, we will still hold Leboku.


“For me not to do Leboku, I better die because Leboku is a period when people leave hunger period to a period of plenty where foodstuffs are gotten.”

Obol Eteng, who disclosed that Leboku has many benefits, including getting new wives, drawing community members in the diaspora to home, and the availability of food in the area, also said: “Those who hardly eat pounded yam can be sure of one during the event.”

Regional Manager, MTN Calabar, Chibuzor Akuchie, said the service provider had in the past years embarked on health, educational and infrastructure development of the area, adding that for this year, it would drive more on financial inclusion.