*Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu hails the recent maiden Lagos Shopping Festival, stating the administration is building a festival economy for the state

Emmanuel Akosile | 绿帽献妻

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has lauded the maiden Lagos Shopping Festival (LSF), which ended Thursday, December 26, 2024, at the iconic Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, in Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu was full of praises for Chain Reactions Africa Limited, the organisers and one of Africa’s leading Public Relations Consulting firms.

The Lagos Governor also commended the PR company for giving Lagos State another pillar upon which a solid festival economy is being erected.

The governor also stated: “We are gradually building a festival economy for our great State. “This idea of a 72-hour shopping festival is another strategic pillar on which the full edifice of a festival economy at Yuletide can rest.”

He further noted with satisfaction how thousands of young people were gainfully engaged within the event management and commercial value chain of the Lagos Shopping Festival around design, set-up of the stage set, the sound system, the lighting system, crowd control, the volunteer network, ambience branding, and exhibition booth installation, to mention but a few.

Sanwo-Olu as well commended officials of the Lagos Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the security and safety agencies, who worked round the clock at the first-of-its-kind festival in Africa.

He observed the fact that the 72-hour non-stop shopping and entertainment event was concluded without any hitch or medical emergency was a testament to the excellent organisational skills of the organisers and the roles of the state agencies as enablers.

The Governor said this maiden edition was about strategic scaling and optimisation of small businesses, connecting shoppers with Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

He commended some of the leading brands, including Tolaram Group, Guinness Nigeria, Zenith Bank, and First Bank, for rallying corporate sponsorship for the successful hosting of the maiden edition of the festival.