Ekiti State government has banned the staging of an event titled “Kiss-A-Thon” scheduled to begin on Friday in the state.
The event, according to a flyer circulated in Ado Ekiti, was advertised as “SUGARTEE KISS-A-THON: 3-Day Kissing Marathon Date: July 7th – July 10th in an attempt to break the Guinness World Records for the longest kissing marathon”.
The ban was announced on Wednesday in a letter by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism to the Hoteliers Association in the state.
In the letter signed by the director of the state tourism, Adebanji Adelusi, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Dele Ogunsemoyin, government argued that the event was immoral and capable of making youths immoral.
The letter reads: “The attention of the State Government has been drawn to a planned hosting of ‘Kiss-a-thon’ in Ekiti State.
“According to information at the disposal of this Ministry, kiss-a-thon, a 3-day kissing marathon event, has been scheduled to hold on 7th of July, 2023 at one of the hospitality outlets in the state.
“This event is said to be planned towards setting a Guinness World Record. “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.
“In view of the foregoing, 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.
“To the above, 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.”