The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Lagos Directorate, has appealed to corporate organisations, multinationals, and banks to support its indigenous trade fair in order to transform it into a major annual cultural event.
The appeal was made by the Zonal Director of NCAC Lagos, Mrs Ivie Uwa-Igbinoba, during an interview on Tuesday at the sidelines of an ongoing trade fair and exhibition in Lagos.
The fair, themed “Eko Wears and Wares”, is being organised by NCAC in collaboration with AJ Folly African Fashion and runs until 10 September.
Uwa-Igbinoba explained that the initiative was designed to promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage through the exhibition and sale of indigenous products, fashion, and crafts, while also fostering cultural pride and economic empowerment.
She noted that although the fair was initially conceived as a zonal event, with adequate sponsorship, it could grow into a significant annual festival.
“With financial support from corporate bodies, multinationals, and banks, this can be bigger and louder,” she said. “There is nothing wrong if a bank has a stand here, or if a company sets up a branch for some days. Some foreigners even came over, which shows the growing interest. But for this to become a full-fledged annual fair, we must have funds and sponsorship.”
She further explained that free admission had been introduced deliberately to attract a larger audience.
Also speaking, the Founder of AJ African Fashion, Mr Sunday Olajide, one of the collaborators of the fair, called for stronger support to expand the initiative, stressing that it had the potential to showcase Nigeria on the global stage.
He noted that while patronage had been encouraging, the absence of sufficient funding, professional event planning, and broader media coverage limited the fair’s reach.
“There is nothing wrong if investors support us. If well planned, this can grow into something as big as the African World Expo, which started in Michigan,” Olajide said.
