The three-day kissing marathon that was intended to break the Guinness World Record in Ekiti State has been declared illegal by the state government. A group going by the name Sugartee published an advertisement announcing that on July 7 they will start the longest kissing marathon in history at a well-known amusement park in the state capital.
In response to the situation, the state ministry of arts and culture today, July 5, issued a statement banning the marathon’s scheduled competition and warning all hoteliers in the state not to permit such an activity to take place on their property. The state administration issued a warning that any hotel found to be allowing such an activity in its facility would face severe penalties.
The letter signed by the Director of Tourism Adebanji Adelusi on behalf of the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dele Ogunsemoyin noted that the planned event tagged ‘Kiss-a-thon ‘ was capable of denigrating the image of the state.
‘’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 backwards.
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.”the statement read