Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State has been advised to rediscover the state’s biggest economic sector of old, leisure, entertainment, and tourism by appointing a Special Adviser on Entertainment.
The call for the appointment of an SA on Entertainment was made came in Port Harcourt during a press briefing by some of the leading voices and investors in the entertainment industry in the Niger Delta: Mayor of Pitakwa (KO Baba Jornsen) and Mayor of Housing (My-ACE China), to unveil details of ‘Mayor of Pitakwa’ show 2024.
The creator of the show series, Jornsen, thus urged the state governor to leverage the brightening relation between the state administration and the leisure industry to consolidate and boost investment in the sector.
He said: “Yesterday I was with the Commissioner of Youth and the discussions facilitated things. Gov Fubara is bringing youths on board. For instance, this is the first time the government is sending representatives to entertainment shows in the state.”
So, now, he said, “We urge him to go ahead and appoint an SA Entertainment who can talk about comedy, music, dance, blog, etc, because the office running entertainment for now is office of the Commissioner of Culture who only talks about Zoo, Pleasure Park, etc.
“So, SA Entertainment will help create jobs. This show alone has created over 70 workers from now to event night. That is how big the industry can be. So, get an SA Entertainment to synergise with the industry, then see how this sector can create jobs and wealth.”
The promoter of ‘The Mayor of Pitakwa’ show series said all plans are set to make the 2024 edition one of the biggest.
This year, he went on, a ‘Presidential Table’ is a reserved table on stage at N5m. This is an innovation. He said they have a strong team that can push a narrative that will suit partner and sponsor because the big objective is to give brand visibility to the partners and sponsors. He said it is going to be fully comedy (up to 98 per cent).
On security, he said it is in place, saying the event centre has strong security system and works with the best security units in the state capital as backup.
The headline sponsor: My-ACE China (CEO, the Housing & Construction Mayor Limited), appealed to the government of Rivers State and other governments in the Niger Delta and south east to leverage Comedy as an industry to create wealth.
He said: “In some states, the window to leverage on this is getting narrower. Oprah Winfrey once urged people to make themselves relevant. This is done by being part of those trying to succeed.
“The brand, ‘Mayor of Pitakwa’, is growing at a fast rate. If the State Government does not take advantage now, they might miss out like the government missed out when Burna Boy, a Port Harcourt boy, won the Grammy. This was so because the state government did not invest in him when he needed them. The opportunity does not stay there forever.”
He said that is why the Entertainment community is happy with the present state government on what they did on Stanley Nwabali (national goalkeeper and AFCON hero) who was hosted by the Governor and given support in form of funds.
“So, we say, this is the best opportunity to invest in ‘Mayor of Pitakwa’. When artistes blow, they are never easy to get because they become too big to care about you.”