Miss Adamawa state, Mildred Ehiguese, has emerged winner of the 2017 edition of Miss Nigeria beauty contest. Ehiguese emerged as the new queen at the beauty pageant held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday. She defeated other 35 contestants from other states, emerging the 41st Miss Nigeria. Apart from Ehiguese, her Delta State counterpart, Rita Chinedu, emerged the first runner-up, while Miss Ogun, Tolulope Ayanfalu Mary, was the second runner-up.
The annual pageant was organized by Dailytimes of Nigeria. It was hosted by Bovi, Ebuka, Olive Emodi and Lala Akindoju. Also, legendary artiste 2face Idibia performed alongside other top artistes.
Speaking on the objective of the event, the organizer Fidelis Anosike said
"Miss Nigeria has been fully restored to its original intent, which is to be a platform young female empowerment in Nigeria. We want to use it to raise the voices of women. We believe that every Miss Nigeria will also take on these issues, raising the voices of women, especially as it relates to issues around the environment. Everybody has now come to understand that this is a national pageant not a beauty pageant.
“Miss Nigeria focuses on issues that affect Nigerian women; she is an ambassador of culture, of purpose, of the environment. We want her to focus on the Nigerian people. It’s a national brand, not a beauty brand. It’s going to be a beautiful show. We are trying to make the show like the Oscars, so it will be a fusion of fashion, beauty and everything good about Nigeria. The contestants have to know about the states they are representing. We also want to use this help promote our history and heritage. We must be proud of who we are. Nigeria has come of age; we’ve seen what people have done in the music industry. That’s the kind of inspiration that we want to draw on.”
