By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Kaduna — Organisers of the Southern Kaduna Festival (SKFEST) have announced that the annual cultural event will no longer hold in December, following a strategic review aimed at strengthening its sustainability and enhancing participants’ experience.

The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee (CPC), Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai (Rtd), disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing at the SKAid Foundation Office in Barnawa, Kaduna.

Bobai recalled that the maiden edition of SKFEST was held in December 2023 with the theme “Experience Unity, Celebrate Cultures,” while the second edition took place in December 2024 under the theme “Preserving Heritage, Igniting Progress.” He noted that the festival has grown into a major platform for celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the 57 ethnic communities in Southern Kaduna.

According to him, following the second edition, the Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC), the main organiser of the festival, set up a review committee to evaluate the long-term sustainability of the event and the appropriateness of holding it every December.

“The committee recommended that SKFEST be moved from December to the first quarter of each year to reduce the congestion of festivities across Southern Kaduna and, more importantly, to allow our people to celebrate Christmas with ease,” Bobai said.

Based on the recommendation, the CPC announced that SKFEST will not hold in December 2025. Bobai added that a new date in the first quarter of 2026 would be announced once finalised.

While expressing regret over any inconvenience the change may cause, he assured stakeholders that the 2026 edition would be bigger and more glamorous.

Bobai also expressed appreciation to key personalities and institutions that supported the festival in its first two editions, including the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor of Kaduna State, and the Governors of Bayelsa and Plateau states.

He further thanked traditional rulers, cultural troupes, supporters, stakeholders and the media for their consistent support in promoting the festival.

Bobai reaffirmed the CPC’s commitment to delivering a more impactful SKFEST in 2026, describing it as a celebration of unity, culture and progress in Southern Kaduna.

“Long live Southern Kaduna, long live Kaduna State, and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he concluded.