After a tightly contested pageant, eigtheen-year-old Anna Banner has been crowned the 26th Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria.
The young lady, who contested as Miss Bayelsa on Saturday night, received the crown from her predecessor, Isabella Ayuk, at the grand finale in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The 5.6-foot fair complexioned teenager beat Stephanie Okwu (Miss Imo) and Powede Lawrence(Miss Adamawa) to the second and third positions respectively, at the event marked by musical performances and motivational talks.
With the victory, Banner won a brand new car. She will represent Nigeria at the Miss World 2013 finale in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The pageant, organised by Silverbird Group, was hosted by the Bayelsa State Government in Yenagoa.
Speaking shortly after she was crowned, Banner, who disclosed that she was “temporarily pleasantly shocked” when she was declared the winner, described the feat as a product of a long -cherished dream.
She urged children and youths to be faithful to their dreams, saying, “You will never know where you will be tomorrow.”
Host Governor Seriake Dickson saluted all the 32 contestants that took part in the pageant and lauded the Bruce family for their commitment to the growth of the entertainment industry in the country.
Dickson said the contestants had the opportunity to visit tourist centres in the state during the two weeks they stayed there.
He added that the state would host another edition of the pageant holding in September to mark Nigeria’s centenary, and the other ones in the coming years.
“We are doing this to demonstrate our commitment to tourism development as another avenue for generating revenue outside oil. We look forward to hosting the MGBN annually and winners will be cultural ambassadors of our state,” the governor added.
Dickson made Banner an honorary special assistant on tourism and culture.