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The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of “Free Image Humanitarian Foundation, (FIHF), Janet Ochanya has called for more funding for the tourism sector in the country.

NaijaBlitzNews who covered the event yesterday at the Armed Forces Officers Mess Luingi Barracks Abuja, reports that the Founder/CEO of the foundation Janet Ochanya made this comment after Miss FCT, Queen Sarah Okoh was crowned the winner of the pageant after a hard fought victory defeating other ten contestants.

She said the event is aimed at drawing the attention of the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the importance of tourism and the need to pay more attention to the tourism industry by budgeting more funds to the sector in line with the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

While applauding the success of the pageant, Ochanya further stated that, the pageant amongst others is also aimed at creating more awareness on the economic potentials of the tourism industry in terms job creation for the teeming idle Nigerian youths and as a catalyst for economic growth and development of the country.

She also commended the current Nigeria minister of tourism Lola Ade-John for the wonderful work she is doing in repositioning the tourism sector since assuming office stating that more investment in the industry by the president, has the potential of transforming the economy of the country.

Ochanya who was also a winner of a beauty pageant her self said her interest in organizing the pageants is to give positive direction and exposure to the up and coming youths particularly girls by reassuring them that they can be successful in a positive way rather than venturing into prostitution, drugs and other societal ills.

She said her organisation, Free Image Humanitarian Foundation has been involved in organizing beauty pageant for over 15 years with the Miss Idoma pageant which has produced many crowned queens who are now impacting positively on the society.

The winner of the 2025 event which happens to be the 2nd Edition of the Face of Tourism Beauty Pageant Miss FCT, Queen Sarah Okoh defeated 10 other contestants to clinch the coveted crown at a colourful event which was widely attended by business and entertainment moguls as well as some major influential dignitaries in the tourism sector across the country.

The visibly elated and happy winner who faced stiff challenges from other contestants from Kaduna, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Enugu respectively thanked the organizers of the event and for giving her the platform to showcase her talent.

Miss Okoh said she will use her reign to propagate the importance and benefits of Tourism in Nigeria and it’s potentials and benefits in engaging and addressing youths festiveness and its contribution to the GDP of the country.

She also assured that her reign will witness economic growth in the country and will put Nigeria in the world map as the number one tourist destination in Africa and world in general.

NaijaBlitzNews crew also spoke with the Catwalk Instructor, Ms Oluwakemi Abosede Osindele who acknowledged the hard work put in by the contestants before the main event.

Oluwakemi said she was not surprised by the outcome of the pageant as the various winners deserved their victories.

She also showered praises on the judges for the honestly and unbiased in painstakingly picking out the winners which is not an easy task but at the end of the day, the audience accepted the outcome with laud applause.

At the end of the day and after a hard fought contest, Miss FCT, Sarah Okoh emerged the overall winner and crowned, the face of Tourism in Nigeria and closely followed by Miss Kaduna, Queen Theresa Jonathan, who was crowned, Miss Tradition 2025 and Miss Enugu, Queen Laura Chioma Eze, who was crowned, Face of Tourism Ambassador 2025 and finally Miss Akwa Ibom, Queen Anita Emmanuel, who was crowned, the Face of Tourism North 2025.

The organizer are already looking ahead to the next pageant which they promised will be more exciting than the just concluded pageant.

END.