Minister unveils agenda for culture, tourism sector

The Minister of Information, Arts and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammad has outlined his agenda for the Culture and Tourism Sector for the next four years, in order to build on the gains of the past four years.

Alhaji Mohammed, who met with Tourism, Arts and Culture journalists in Lagos, promised to do even more for the sector in the next four years.

“We promise to set the necessary legal framework for the sector; we will conclude and launch the National Policy on Culture as well as the National Policy on Tourism. We have finalised work on the Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) Bill and submit it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The plan is to create a proper regulatory environment for the sub-sector that has put Nigeria’s name on the global map, thus attracting the much-needed investment to the sector,” he said.

The Minister stated that, “we will establish the Endowment Fund for the Arts to create a legal framework for the financing of the sector. Make the National Summit for Culture and Tourism, which we first held in April 2016, a yearly affair, starting from the first quarter of 2020”.

He also explains his plans for the tourism sector, saying, “I will ensure a regularly meeting of the Presidential Council on Tourism (PCT) to catalyze the growth of tourism. We plan at least three meetings a year and also Kick-start the implementation of the parts of the Tourism Master plan that constitute low-hanging fruits.

“We will complete work on the establishment of Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), working with the UNWTO. We have already signed an agreement with the UNWTO in this regard. Institute a unified National Celebration of the World Tourism Day, instead of the current situation in which we have multiple celebrations. We will hold a National Council on Culture and Tourism in May next year, and then hold it yearly thereafter,” he said.

The Minister said, “We plan to organise a Regional Summit on Culture and Tourism, starting next year, with a view to working with other countries in the West Africa sub-region to foster the development of the sector.

“We will continue with our visits to tourist sites and attend as many festivals as possible across the country and also explore private sector branding of the nation’s Cultural Centres abroad.”

Mohammed promised to get more sites in Nigeria inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and explore private sector branding of the nation’s Cultural Centres abroad.

In achieving the set goals, the minister solicited the support of stakeholders, stressing that he could do nothing without their cooperation.

Earlier, the minister reviewed what the administration did in the past four years which included the hosting of the National Summit on Culture and Tourism and the Creative Industry Financing Conference.