Writing By Daniel Karlmax, Editing By Godwin Duru
The Southern Kaduna Festival (SKFEST) will not take place in December 2025, as plans have been concluded to move the annual cultural celebration to the first quarter of the year, following recommendations by a review committee set up by the Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC).
Chairman of the Central Planning Committee (CPC), Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai (Rtd), made this known during a press briefing in Kaduna.
Rear Admiral Bobai explained that the review committee was inaugurated after the second edition of the festival to assess both the long-term sustainability of SKFEST and the appropriateness of hosting it annually in December.
According to him, the committee observed that December is already crowded with numerous community festivities across Southern Kaduna, a situation that limits effective participation by residents.
He noted that the committee consequently recommended shifting SKFEST to the first quarter of each year to reduce festive pressure on communities and allow the people of Southern Kaduna to celebrate Christmas without competing activities.
Acting on the recommendation, the CPC announced that the festival would not hold in December 2025, adding that a new date in the first quarter of 2026 would be announced once finalised.
The CPC chairman recalled that the inaugural edition of SKFEST was held in December 2023 under the theme “Experience Unity, Celebrate Cultures,” while the second edition took place in December 2024 with the theme “Preserving Heritage, Igniting Progress.”
Both editions, he said, highlighted the diverse cultural heritage of the 57 ethnic nationalities in Southern Kaduna.
Rear Admiral Bobai assured participants, cultural development associations, and supporters that the 2026 edition of SKFEST would be better organised and more glamorous, in line with the recommendations of the review committee.
Daniel Karlmax
