The Office of the President has announced that the National Awards Ceremony 2020 has been postponed indefinitely.
A statement by the Office of the President (OTP) said it had not yet received the list of persons selected to receive awards this year and this compromised its ability to host the Awards to the usual standard on September 24, 2020.
“COVID-19 has heavily influenced our decision, as it will necessarily shrink the guest list to negligible number; most importantly the awardees will be denied the opportunity to invite their personal guests and those on the Table of Precedence cannot be invited,” the OTP said.
It added that the usual pomp and circumstance that attends the occasion will be absent and other highlights of the ceremony, the commemorative photographs as well as the cocktail reception, would have to be abandoned.
“Our normal venue (NAPA) is also subject to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 regulations in respect of numbers both on and off the stage and therefore even our slate of entertainers is adversely affected.
In the above premises, the OTP is constrained to defer the National Awards Ceremony 2020 until it can be acceptably and properly presented,” the OTP said.
It expressed hope that the Awards will be before the end of the year.
