Tony Anichebe 
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has called on the citizens and residents to continue to maintain peace as they begin celebrations for this year’s Christmas season.
Eno who spoke yesterday night at the Unity Park Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, shortly before declaring open the Christmas Unplugged season 2.0, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism stressed that both the state and country need peace to continue to remain united as well as to achieve all other things.
The governor said the crowd that graced the opening of the event was not surprising to him given the success recorded during season 1 held in December 2023
He said, “The Christmas Unplugged season 1.0 was wonderfully packaged. So I am not surprised coming here today to see this crowd. I wonder what is going to happen here in the next 30 days.
“I trust sir Charles Udoh and his team will continue to give us the very best. So I thank the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Akwa Ibom is a peaceful state, Akwa Ibom State is named after God and Christmas is all about God. Christmas is when you have peace and show goodwill to all men.
” It is a time for all of us to show love to our fellow man. If we can do this by being here together, singing and dancing, I believe it will go a long way to continue to unify Akwa Ibom State and indeed Nigeria. At this point in time in our country we need peace.
“Once we have peace I believe all other things are going to be added. And with celebrations like this, to honour our Lord Jesus Christ I believe that He (Christ) in His infinite Mercies will bring blessings to our land”
Continuing, Governor Eno who was represented at the event by Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Prince Enobong Uwah, warned that people should not allow themselves to be used by the devil to make trouble during the festival.
He reminded miscreants that security operatives have been deployed to ensure the protection of lives and property throughout the festival, warning, “This is a celebration, we don’t want any form of violence. And for the vendors of course this is your opportunity, make good use of it.
“You have been given a platform to start a business, to grow your businesses. It is not only about the profit that you will make here, it is also about the experience and the network you can build from here. So I wish all of you the the vendors and all the artists the very best”.
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Charles Udoh noted that a total of 200 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that took part in the first season of the event were sensitised on how to sustain their businesses.
Udoh added that for this year’s season, no fewer than 210 entrepreneurs would also be trained on how to hone their skills.
