This feat makes it the third time under the Dickson’s administration that the Bayelsa Troupe would emerge first.
Dickson, who received the victorious members of the State Troupe at the entrance of the Government Houses said, the government and people of the state were proud of their achievements, as Bayelsa continued to make steady progress in all spheres of human endeavour.
At the Government House, Yenagoa, Dickson described them as the worthy Champions of Culture, noting that the feat they had achieved demonstrated to the whole country that Bayelsa was a state to be reckoned with in a number of areas, including education, healthcare delivery, infrastructural development as well as culture and tourism and assured them of the government’s continued support to enable the council win more laurels for the state.
His words: “That is the spirit of the new Bayelsa; the spirit of excellence and the spirit of being number one in everything we are doing in this state. We are number one in security, education, healthcare, infrastructural investment and in culture and tourism clearly you are undoubted champions of culture. On behalf of the government and people of this state, I will like to congratulate you on your victory. You have made a statement that all states in this country will not forget in a hurry.
“You have said that, what happened last year was not a mistake and that you deserved this trophy last year and you have confirmed that, you are number one cultural troupe in this country, because you people have done this to show to the rest of the country and the world, that when it comes to the area of culture and tourism, Bayelsa is number one.”
As part of efforts to promote culture and tourism in the state, Governor Dickson announced, government would organise a mock cultural carnival by next year
In appreciation of their remarkable performance in bringing back the Cultural Gong, the Governor promised that, the government would formally host the troupe at a later date.
It will be recalled that, members of the council in the previous year, had emerged overall best at NAFEST, which held in Akwa Ibom State and had won the competition thrice, under Governor Dickson led administration.
Presenting the Gong to Governor Dickson, Director of the State Council for Arts and Culture, Mrs. Payeboye Festus-Lukoh expressed gratitude to Governor Dickson for the support and encouragement given to the council to participate in this year’s NAFEST.
Ascribing the council’s victory to God, Mrs. Festus-Lukoh also thanked the state government for the timely approval of funds and assured that the council would put in its optimal performance to bring the cultural gong back home again next year.
and then