Idara Inokon, the contestant representing Akwa Ibom, has emerged winner of Miss Nigeria USA 2017 beauty pageant held on Saturday night into early Sunday morning in New York.
Idara beat 13 other contestants to emerge the winner.
The new Miss Nigeria USA took home $10,000 in prizes and would also embark on a pet project that would impact on the less privileged back home in Nigeria.
Miss Ondo, Ayoyemi Ajimatanrareje, emerged the first runner-up, Miss Lagos, Susan Adeyemi, emerged the second runner-up, while Miss Rivers, Lucy Edosomwan, emerged Miss congeniality.
The contestants were tested in intelligence, carriage, beauty, knowledge about Nigeria, Nigerian culture, and planned contributions to Nigeria through a pet project during their reign.
Miss Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers were among the fourteen contestants made the finals.
The new Miss Nigeria USA, while speaking with NAN after her crowning, expressed surprise at her emergence.
She said: “I was very surprised, I felt very shaky in the whole competition, you know how nerves get to you but I just said ‘Idara, whatever the outcome, you did your best and so I went out with a smile’.
“When I found Miss Nigeria USA and I found that the pageant was located in New York, I was extremely excited.
“I see it as a moment to share women empowerment and to represent my culture, which is a perfect opportunity. I really want to start to get to work to see how I can serve my community.
“My platform is to create awareness on prevention. As a registered nurse, I do health education on a daily basis.
“It is something I am very passionate about and I believe that if people are educated about their health, they can live healthier lives. So that would be what I would pursue during my reign.”
Inokon, a registered nurse in the US, was born to a Nigerian father from Akwa Ibom. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2010 with a Bachelor of science and psychology.
She is currently a masters student in family nursing.
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