NEPC, NCAC, Drum Support For Face Of Nigeria

The Face of Nigeria Fashion Festival (FONFEST) has gathered momentum after both the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) pledged their support for the Fashion festival.

The Executive Director and CEO NEPC, Mr. Segun Awolowo, and the Director General NCAC, Otumba Olusegun Runsewe, threw their weight behind the event after organisers of the fashion festival led by Mr. Charles Ozoemena paid them presentation visits in their offices in Abuja.

The organisers of the event made this known in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER on Tuesday in Abuja.

“NEPC will support you because FONFEST is in line with the desire of the present administration not only to promote ‘Made in Nigeria’ products but also diversify the economy through non-oil products,” Mr. Awolowo said.

He commended All Times Promotions, organisers of the festival, for choosing to host the programme in Abuja, shifting attention away from Lagos to cover the Northern fashion market.  He observed that Japan, China other Asian countries are controlling about 75 percent of the international fashion market, imploring Nigerians to rise-up to the challenge of producing and patronizing Nigerian products, as well as competing in exports.

On his part, the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otumba Olusegun Ronsewe, while receiving the delegation in his office said, “For this fashion festival, we will give you our full support to ensure it’s a huge success”.

He called on Nigerians to patronize patronize Made in Nigeria fashions and textiles.

“In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), you hardly see a UAE citizen wearing suits. Even if they wear suits, they will still put on their long robe and scarf,” Otumba said.

He revealed plans by the NCAC to come out with a National Dress Code, in addition to recommending the use of local fabrics, such as Ankara for school uniform in Nigeria. While revealing that NCAC has a big plan for the cultural sector, he urged Nigerians to be proud of the Nigerian culture as there is no country in the world that makes a major impact in global arena without a brand identity. “Brand Identity can never come up without a culture”, he stressed.

The Face of Nigeria Fashion Festival (FONFEST) is a three day fashion fiesta, comprising of exhibitions, ‘Wear Nigeria, eNjoy Nigeria’ Road-Walk, Conference and Fashion Shows. The festival aims at showcasing Made-in-Nigeria fashions and fabrics for the purposes of stimulating local and international patronage.

The idea is to create an annual platform for celebrating not only Nigeria’s textiles and apparels but also stimulating the local market for Nigeria’s fashion designers