Delta State To Host 2013 Best of Nollywood Awards

Best of Nolywood Awards gets home in Asaba, as Guinness Book of Records certifies World’s Longest Red Carpet event
The stage is set for the biggest gathering of Nollywood stars as the 5th Edition of the Best of Nollywood Awards will hold in Asaba, Delta State at the prestigious 5,000 seater Dome. The confirmation of the event venue is coming after months of discussions with top officials of the Delta State Government.

According to the Governor of the state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, while signing a Memorandum Of Understanding to that effect on behalf of Delta State: “We are hosting this event for a lot of reasons. Nollywood and football come side by side in Nigeria when you are talking about what sells us to the world, with Nollywood gradually overshadowing football, especially in African countries where our stars are hero worshipped.

“To us in Delta State, it is important we develop Nollywood, especially with the way filmmakers have gradually turned our state to the Hollywood of Nigeria. It is on record that an average of 300 films are shot yearly in Asaba because we have given the producers the right environment and also because our state is quite safe now after our heavy investment in our security operatives and security equipments.”

The Executive Producer of the Awards, Mr. Seun Oloketuyi, had earlier disclosed that Asaba was chosen because it is not just the heartbeat of the Nation, but that of Nollywood. Producers not just love to shoot in Asaba, Oloketuyi said, the state is blessed with talented scripts interpreters in the mould of the legendary Richard Mofe Damijo, the late Enebeli Elebuwa, Fathia Balogun and Rachael Oniga to mention a few.
Oloketuyi added: “Apart from the Awards, we will be setting a record for the longest Red Carpet in the world, a dream we have had since 2010 but could not happen then because of technical hitches. However, this time around, we are flying Adjudicators from the Guinness Book of World Records from the United Kingdom to ensure all goes well and the record is broken and so all that will attend will walk on the carpet.

“Overall, it will be a better Awards and Events managed by world class events managers and with world class standards in mind. Already, the first stage of the Awards has started with Nollywood filmmakers jostling to be part of the Awards as they have began to submit their movies for the Awards. The entries for the Awards opened on May 1, 2013 and will close on June 30, 2013.