Since Nigeria’s Hilda Baci won the 2023 Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual in June with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes, displacing a previously set record of 87 hours 45 minutes by an Indian chef, Lata Tondon in 2019, many other Nigerians have been jumping on the GWR trend, proposing and attempting marathons in various endeavours including cooking and body massage, among other activities.
In the spirit of the trend, a proposed three-day “Kissing Marathon Event” called “Kiss-a-Thon” had been announced to take place in Ekiti state by a group identified as Sugartee to break the Guinness World Record for the longest kissing Marathon. The 72-hour Kiss-a-Thon was scheduled to run from Friday, July 7 to Monday, July 10.
However, the Ekiti State Government through the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism on Wednesday has issued a ban on the proposed event, warning the hoteliers’ association in the state against the activity which was described as not only unhealthy and immoral but inimical to the image of the state.
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In a letter addressed to the Secretary, Ekiti State Hoteliers’ Association and signed by Adelusi A. L, for the Permanent Secretary, Dele Ogunsemoyin, the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, the government warned hoteliers against such unhealthy and immoral acts in their facilities.
The letter reads: “Kiss-A-Thon, as an event is not only absurd, unhealthy, immoral and capable of denigrating the image of the state, it is a programme that runs counter to the values of the people of the state and therefore capable of plunging our youths morally backward.
“The Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism hereby prohibits the hosting of such event or any other events like it in any facility that wishes to continue to operate lawfully in Ekiti State.
“You are hereby requested to convey the content of this notice to the members of Ekiti State Hoteliers’ Association to effectively monitor their outlets against being used negatively to cause embarrassment to the government and people of Ekiti State.”
