Lagos SKAL elects new officers

THE Lagos State chapter of SKAL Club, an international body of tourism, travels and hospitality professionals in over 80 countries across the globe, has elected a new executive committee to run its affairs for the next one year.

 The election, which held at the weekend in Lagos, produced Mrs. Kemi Soetan as president, while Kayode Giwa and Tinuke Nwakohu emerged first and second vice presidents respectively.

 Also elected were Bukola Rokosu (Secretary), Chinwe Efidi (Vice Secretary), Bankole Bernard (Treasurer) and Soji Adebayo (Financial Secretary).

 The rest are Arit Tunde-Imoyo (Publicity Secretary), Bimbo Durosinmi-Etti (International Councillor), while Daisi Olotu and Kola Sodipe both got the position of Ex-Officio.

 In a chat with The Guardian, the new president of the 56-year-old club, Soetan, pledged to take the organization to the next level.

 “It is our hope that we will not only grow in number, but also in reach. We hope to bring in more members from the restaurants and hotels and strike more partnerships. This promotes integrity in doing business properly. That is what we hope to achieve,” she said.

 Earlier, the outgoing president, Olotu, while rendering his three-year stewardship, noted that the prevailing security challenge and lack of support from appropriate quarters impacted negatively on the hospitality sector as many prospective tourists stayed away. He noted, however, that his tenure did much to promote the group.

 “We need to partner with government to improve tourism in Nigeria. We look forward to holding our world congress in Nigeria so as to bring in foreign investments.

“Government must stop paying lip service to tourism development. They need to partner SKAL to bring in huge revenues because the sector is a high revenue earner to government,” Olotu appealed.