{"id":3692,"date":"2025-04-22T15:50:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pillartoday.ng\/?p=3692"},"modified":"2025-04-22T15:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:54:03","slug":"governor-otu-wife-clergymen-lead-parade-at-jesus-carnival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"pillartoday.com.ng\/?p=3692","title":{"rendered":"Governor Otu, Wife, Clergymen Lead Parade at \u201cJesus Carnival\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Governor of CRS; Apostle Bassey Otu (centre), his wife, Bishop Eyoawan Bassey Otu. (3rd from right), State Chairman of CAN, Rev. Takis Etim Caiafas (4th from left); Bishop Josef Bassey (2nd from right); Bishop Emma Isong 1st from right) and others during the flag off of the Jesus Carnival.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Anietie Akpan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cross River State Government has officially introduced a new annual event into its tourism calendar.<\/p>\n

The event, titled \u201cCarnival Parade of Thanksgiving and Festival of Praise\u201d \u2014 popularly known as the \u201cJesus Carnival\u201d \u2014 will be held every Easter season.<\/p>\n

A release from the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nsa Gill, said the maiden edition took place on Easter Monday in the state capital, Calabar, and was flagged off by the Governor, Apostle Bassey Edet Otu, alongside his wife,Bishop Eyoawan Bassey Otu.<\/p>\n

The colorful and spiritually charged event, marked by splendor and cultural flair, is a spiritual offshoot of the globally celebrated Carnival Calabar, traditionally held every December.<\/p>\n

Organizers explained that the Jesus Carnival is designed as a moment of collective gratitude to God for the success of Carnival Calabar and the continued progress of the state. It blends faith, culture, and thanksgiving into a unique Christian celebration during the Easter season.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

A prototype giant Bible on one of the trucks at the Jesus Carnival on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking at the event, Governor Otu declared: \u201cJesus Christ has taken Cross River State to unimaginable heights within two years of this administration. From inception, I declared this a Godly state, and Jesus the true Governor. Easter Monday has now been set aside to celebrate Jesus and to say, \u2018Father, thank You for how far You\u2019ve brought us.\u2019 The story of Cross River State is changing for the better. I\u2019m grateful to all the men and women of God who have continually kept the state in their prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called on more Christians to join the effort to pray for Cross River, emphasizing that \u201cno investment in the things of God is ever wasted.\u201d The Governor also thanked the large contingent of clergy who led their congregations in participating in the event.<\/p>\n

The parade route covered several strategic locations across Calabar Municipality and Calabar South, including Millennium Park, Watt Market, Nelson Mandela Street, Target Street, and the Mary Slessor Roundabout, before returning to the main carnival corridor as \u00a0Prayers were offered at various roundabouts along the way, adding a spiritual dimension to the march.<\/p>\n

Governor Otu and his wife danced and sang alongside thousands of Christian faithful, with gospel music echoing through the streets in a jubilant expression of faith.<\/p>\n

Bishop Eyoawan Otu, speaking before the flag-off, said the vision for the Easter event was inspired by a desire to dedicate a significant part of the tourism calendar to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Carnival Calabar is a secular celebration, this is a spiritual festival \u2014 one created to honour Christ for His sacrifice and celebrate our faith as a people,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Event Management, Mr. Effiong Ekpenyong, described the Jesus Carnival as the brainchild of the First Lady, crediting her prayerful support for much of the administration\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

He coordinated the parade\u2019s logistics and highlighted its significance as a new attraction in the state\u2019s growing tourism offerings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this spiritually uplifting addition to its tourism calendar, Cross River State has reaffirmed its identity as a place where culture and faith intersect\u2014making Easter not just a religious observance, but a state-wide celebration of divine gratitude and praise,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

The celebration culminated with live gospel music performances, headlined by internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and producer, Cobhams Asuquo, whose electrifying performance left the crowd in awe.<\/p>\n

Prayers were led by prominent religious leaders, including the State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Takis Etim Caiafas; Bishop Josef Bassey; Bishop Emma Isong; Bishop Bassey E. Edem; Apostle Frank Umoh, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious Affairs; and several others across various Christian denominations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Governor of CRS; Apostle Bassey Otu (centre), his wife, Bishop Eyoawan Bassey Otu. (3rd from right), State Chairman of CAN, Rev. Takis Etim Caiafas (4th from left); Bishop Josef Bassey (2nd from right); Bishop Emma Isong 1st from right) and others during the flag off of the Jesus Carnival. By Anietie Akpan The Cross River […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}