Calabar – Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River, on Saturday night in Calabar, splashed one million naira on each of the 11 families that contested at the maiden edition of Silverbird’s ‘Mother and Daughter Pageant’.
The pageant held at the Cross River International Conference
Centre, Calabar, involved 11 teams, each made up of a mother and daughter.
Also, the team of Mrs Angela Nwangwa and her daughter, Gift,
apart from the governor’s largesse, got N2 million cash and a family trip to
Dubai as overall winner of the contest.
The duo of Mrs Omo Alake and her daughter, Ife, emerged the
first runner-up, while Mrs Thelma Ukpai and her daughter, Mercy, were placed
second runner-up.
According to the governor, a contest which celebrates family
values should have no loser, as it will affect the confidence children have in
their mothers.
Ayade extolled the qualities of the family, describing the event
as a “life touching’’ show.
He said, “An event like this shows that culture has not departed
from us.
“Anything involving mothers make me very emotional, because I
remember the struggles of my mother while I was growing up and how her sickness
started when we were becoming successful.
“This event should have been for the mother and her son, because
sons feel very strongly for their mothers more than daughters.
“If I had one wish in this world, it will be that mothers die no
more, and I will give an arm and a leg just to see my mother again and for her
to see me as a governor today.’’
Ayade said that mothers always inspired confidence in their
children and promised that the state government would always support events
that celebrated culture and family values.
NAN reports that results of the first edition of the Mother and
Daughter Pageant were decided exclusively from the online votes of viewers.
The contestants were in teams one to 11 and Team One had Mrs Omo
Alake and her daughter, Ife, while Team Two had Mrs Onyinye Udenze and her daughter,
Chiamaka.
Team Tree had Mrs Abisola Abayomi and her daughter, Laanumi;
Team Four – Mrs Ruby Etoh and her daughter, Reena while Team Five had Mrs
Thelma Ukpai and her daughter, Mercy.
Mrs Kate Ogbebor and her daughter, Justice were in Team Six; Mrs
Francisca Nwabueze and her daughter, Favour, in Team Seven; while Mrs Debbie
Young and her daughter, Gabrielle, were in Team Eight.
Team Nine had Mrs Angela Nwangwa and her daughter, Gift; Team 10
– Mrs Ijeoma Ikeru and her daughter, Chioma, while Team 11 was Mrs Ngozi and
Kamsi Duru.
Apart from the grand prize, Team Nine was also awarded the “Most
Innovative Mother and Daughter’’; Team Six was adjudged the Most Creative
Mother and Daughter’; while Team 10 had the Best Outfit.
Team 11 got the Most Photogenic Mother and Daughter, while Team
Four won the prize for Special Relationship and Bond.
In his remarks, the Vice President, Silverbird Group, Mr Guy
Murray-Bruce, said that the theme of the pageant was “Circle of Life’’ and it
was to celebrate family qualities.
He said that there were no “Bikini Contests’’ due to the family
nature of the contest.
According to him, it focused on how family qualities were passed
from the mother to her child.
