Last beauty pageant being organized by the Okija-in-home club, home of the pageant, gave out mouth worth-ring prizes for winner of the contest who went home with a brand new car and was placed on a monthly salary for the next one year while the first and second runners up went home with N300,000 and N200,000, respectively.
The maiden beauty contest was open to graduates and undergraduate of recognised tertiary institutions from Okija origin between the ages of 18 and 25 years, the organisers said.
While the Senior Special Assistant to the Former Anambra State Governor on Liaison Matters, who doubles as Chairman of the Organising Committee for the ‘Face of Okija’ pageant, Lady Ucheoma Chukwudum, disclosed that the occassion was one of the best in the east of the Niger and suggested it should be sustained but expectations are high now that this year pageant should attract more in term of celebrity performance and more to out classed the maiden event
According to her, the programme was borne out of the need to incorporate young ladies into the fun and ceremonies marking the end of year festivities in the community a memorable one.
The organising committee chairman underscored the need for youths to be engaged in activities that are capable of enhancing their future, saying it was in this spirit that philanthropists and organisations sponsor reality shows and football competitions at the Local Government level among other things.
She said Obijackson foundation has agreed to bankroll the face of Okija pageant, particularly to give young ladies from the town reasons to continually visit their home town and give them a sense of belonging, particularly during the end of year festivities.
“Okija In-Home Club in collaboration with the Obijackson Foundation sponsored the events that crowned the most beautiful girl in Okija for the year 2013. For years now, Okija has witnessed football tournaments between different villages. At the end, the sponsors dole out categories of cash prizes and a giant cup for the overall winning club.
“Obijackson Foundation, through his magnanimity has extended the competition to the female folks. This brought about the emergence of a cultural pageant where the winner will be crowned with the Face of Okija. The queen when crowned will be involved in humanitarian services, visit schools and address youth gatherings in Okija.
“The winner will take home a brand new car and will be placed on a salary for a year during her reign. The first and second runners up will get cash prizes of N300,000 and N200,000 respectively. There are seven consolation prizes of N50,000 each,” Chukwudum said.
According to her, the contest was in three stages saying, “The first stage saw the emergence of 15 contestants out of the best 30 contestants that will be chosen by seasoned judges. The second state wias on the emergence of the final 10 contestants that proceed to the final stage. The last state which decides who the winner is was held on December 31.”
“All outfits/apparels for the contestants was provided by Obijackson foundation. The crowning of the queen climax the activities of the annual end of year party hosted by Obijackson Foundation on the night of December 31,” she stated.
Meanwhile, the President of the Okija In-Home Club, Dr. Ifeanyi Uchendu said the club was founded by Elites in the town to bring them together and ensured that they think and move in the same direction towards creating meaningful developments in the town.
The President of Nestoil Plc and an Okija indigene, Azudialo set up the Obijackson Foundation, a non-governmental organisation committed to hope and compassion to take care of abandoned children and vulnerable people among other things.
Besides sponsoring multiple orphanages, building of churches, the foundation has embarked on the construction of a state of the art hospital in Okija town. This is a new phase in the activities of the organisation.
Nestoil was incorporated in Nigeria in 1991 to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to the energy industry and has since grown become the leading indigenous EPC provider for oil companies in sub-Saharan Africa.