By Moses Akaigwe
About two years after IVM Connect created ripples with a grand debut at a ride-hailing scheme launch by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd (IVM) in Enugu, the 1.5 litre engine hatchback is, once again, basking in the limelight.
This time, it is the much brighter and far-reaching lights of the BBNaija Level Up that beamed on the car on Thursday, and the excitement has continued to linger even as the curtains came down on the reality show yesterday.
And none was happier than Chizzy, the last Head of House and Rider, who left the show with the lovely looking, 5-seater IVM Connect by courtesy of BBNaija’s annual headline sponsor and Nigeria’s first indigenous auto manufacturer, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Nnewi.
Chizzy, whose real name is Aniekwe Francis Chidi, won the 2022 edition of the IVM Connect during the keenly contested Innoson Task by the housemates on Day 68 of Level Up.
With the eyes of all the eight remaining housemates on the white Connect festooned with green and white balloons {representing Nigeria’s colours}, they partook in one of the most anticipated tasks of the season as they went head-to-head in a bid to win the brand new hatchback.
It was interesting watching the housemates as they waddled through a pool of balloons, popping quite a lot in an effort to find letters with which to spell out “Innoson IVM Connect.” The task for each housemate was to find one letter and place it on the assigned table before returning to search for more letters till “Innoson IVM Connect is spelt.
The task took the participants’ hours to accomplish since several, including Adekunle, Bryann, Daniella, and Riders Chizzy and Rachel, had located all letters, but “T, which seemed to be the scarcest of all.
Following a lot of searching, balloon-popping and intermittent water breaks, Chizzy finally found the winning letter, and was lost in ecstasy when he was informed that he had won the Innoson car – first running in the opposite direction, and later dashing back to lie on the bonnet.
By this time, the other housemates had joined in the celebration, and together, they embarked on a tour of the car – exploring the interior and having a feel of the ambience and the many features therein.
Interestingly, stories, pictures and videos of Chizzy winning IVM Connect have been receiving tremendous attention, both in the conventional and social media, and making the made-in-Nigeria vehicle the most visible automotive product in the country today.. Ditto for the Innoson brand.
Flaunting an elegant silhouette and described by users as very reliable, IVM Connect is driven by a 1.5 litre petrol engine working in tandem with efficient drive-train. It is available in automatic and manual transmission options
The 5-seater Connect is endowed with active and passive safety in the interest of the driver and the other occupants. It also flaunts remote-controlled central lock, dual front airbag
and cruise control, among other features..
IVM’s Head of Corporate Communications, Cornel Osigwe, confirmed that the Innoson Task on Thursday and the victory by Chizzy have been attracting extra attention to the Connect in IVM showrooms across the country.