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FG set to diversify economy through tourism

By Editor
23 April 2016   |   1:30 am
Nigerian government is working hard to incorporate Culture and Tourism sectors into the mainstream of the nation’s economy, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has disclosed.

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Nigerian government is working hard to incorporate Culture and Tourism sectors into the mainstream of the nation’s economy, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has disclosed.

The Minister, who stated this in Lagos on Sunday at a parley with Arts, Culture and Tourism Correspondents, said the sectors are among those that have been identified as key to the government’s economic diversification programme.

“As you are very much aware, this administration is diversifying the economy away from oil, which for many years has been the mainstay of our economy. Among the sectors that have been identified as veritable sources of revenue for the nation are the Arts, Culture and Tourism Sectors”.

Giving an assurance that the present administration has mustered the political will to tackle the myriad of problems bedeviling the nation’s economy, Mohammed said Buhari’s administration is set to use multi-sectoral approach to address the multifaceted challenges facing the sectors.

He further disclosed the federal government’s plan to work with various local and international partners, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council in boosting the Tourism sector.

“We are not naive enough to believe that repositioning these critical sectors will be a walk in the park. We do know, for example, that tourism is a multi-sectoral issue that involves easier access to visas, provision of necessary infrastructure like roads, adequate security, etc. This is why we have decided to call a National Summit on Culture and Tourism, which is scheduled for April 27th to 29th 2016 in Abuja, with a view to charting the path forward.

”We are aware that similar efforts have been made in the past, without an appreciable result. The difference this time is our commitment and the different milieu provided by the national imperative to diversify the economy, amidst the crash in the price of oil,” the Minister said.
Mohammed, therefore, solicited the support and cooperation of the media to achieve the goal of repositioning the tourism and culture sectors into the main pillars of the economy because of its potential to generate wealth and create jobs.

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