Mr. Bredan Isikak, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BCL, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the 32 shortlisted recorded high votes out of 50 registered contestants.
News reports that the pageant tagged “The Rebirth Edition 2020” would feature contestants for the MMNI and Mr and Miss International Africa (MMIA).
Mr. Isikak said that the shortlisted contestants had been briefed of the development, to enable them to begin preparation for the contest scheduled for the last quarter of the year.
“The selection process for this year’s MMNI was done online and by voting due to the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown and restriction orders which qualified 32 out of 50 contestants.
“They have all been anxious to know their scores which we just released to them, so this information will help them to start necessary preparations for the contest.
“Although, no date has been fixed for the event but we are proposing between October and November because the reign is 2020/2021, while other arrangements are in progress,” Bredan added.
Meanwhile, he said that South Africa, Ghana, and the Gambia had shown interest to participate in the event, adding that they were optimistic that international flights would fully resume operations.
According to him, no fewer than 10 African countries registered for the event prior to the COVID-19 lockdown but only three have communicated their interest to participate in the organizers.
`As we speak, we have four countries showing interest, though we are expecting others to confirm their participation because they registered earlier,” he added.
