Folio Communications Plc, organisers of Miss Nigeria, announced in a statement earlier this week, that registration for the pageant is now free for all participants. Bonaventure Melah, the media adviser for Folio Communications, said that this decision is the organisation’s attempt at ensuring all economic classes in Nigeria are included and represented in the national beauty competition.

Until now, one of the prerequisites for the annually held competition was a fee of N 5,000, which Melah identifies as a barrier for young Nigerian women; “Young women, especially from rural communities may not be able to pay even N500 to participate in the contest”, he stated. “The management therefore decided to abolish payment of entry fees from this year’s edition so that many more doors and window of opportunities are opened for everyone that has confidence in their selves to dare”.

Melah also hinted at a development of new selection criteria in the absence of the fee. Which Ezinne Akudo, 2013 Miss Nigeria who was recently appointed the creative director of the pageant, echoed in her statement “We are committed to finding a young lady who defies the stereotypical perception of beauty queens as just superficial”

The competition is open to young ladies within the 18-25 age whose values “align excellently with the organisation’s mission to empower women beyond beauty”. The competition will be selecting values that align in 5 areas: education, environmental sustainability, arts & culture, health, financial management and technology.

The winner of the pageant will be awarded N3 million, a luxury apartment and a car. Call for entry starts September 26 and will end October 14. Melah assures that “any qualified young Nigerian woman is free to take advantage of [the] new policies and register through the appropriate platforms”. To register, interested contestants are expected to visit MissNigeria.ng.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/missnigeriaorg
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