Speaking with newsmen at the calabar airport when he returned to the state, governor ben ayade said with the lessons learnt from rio carnival in brazil, the cross river state government will make the 2018 edition of the carnival calabar a huge income generator with renewed capacity to  exceed the expectations of the world. 

The governor said with the preliminary report he got from the team sent to gather experience from  Rio in Brazil , it was clear that well-to-do people ,captains of industries and other top government officials and elites with their families will henceforth be invited to be part of the carnival train rather than sitting back and watching as has been  previously.

Ait's Rasheed Olanrewaju reports that the 2017 edition of the carnival witnessed a record breaking turnout of both revellers and fun seekers from  within and outside the country but the state government says the business side of the carnival has not been fully harnessed.