GOV. AMBODE COMMENDS MINISTER, SAYS LAGOS WILL SUPPORT FG TO HOST TOURISM MEETING

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has commended the
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for his
efforts to reposition culture and tourism in the country.

The Governor gave the commendation when the Minister paid him a courtesy
visit in Lagos on Thursday, in connection with Nigeria’s hosting of
the 61st Meeting of the United Nations World Tourism
Organization/Commission for Africa (UNWTO/CAF) in Abuja 4-6 June 2018.

”I will like to welcome the Minister of Information and Culture back
home to the Centre of Excellence. It is always a delight to welcome
people like him. He has been very impactful in the last three years in
the Ministry of Information and Culture,” he said.

Gov. Ambode assured that the Lagos State government will support the
Federal Government in order to ensure a successful hosting of the
global event, adding: ”We are happy to associate with President
Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Information and culture in their
efforts to reposition tourism and diversifying the nation’s economy.”

Earlier, the Minister had said he was in Lagos as part of his
nation-wide promotional tour for the 61st edition of the UNWTO/CAF
Meeting.

”We kickstarted the tour in Abuja on Tuesday with a visit to the
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, because he is the Minister
of the Meeting’s Host City. This is the second stop on the promotional
tour that will take us across the country. Lagos, the economic nerve
centre of Nigeria, is also a foremost tourist city. It is therefore
not a surprise that it is our next port of call after Abuja, which
will host the UNWTO/CAF Meeting,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the Meeting is a great opportunity to promote
Nigeria’s tourism industry and to showcase the country to the world,
especially in the area of its culture and tourism, adding: ”And of
course, we have a lot to showcase: Our tourist attractions, our rich
culture, as well as our music and films, which have taken the world by
storm.
is very important”

He said Lagos State is crucial to the success of the Meeting,
especially because the state will host the Technical Visit programme
of the Meeting

”A major part of the programme is what is referred to as the
Technical Visit. For this, we have chosen the Eko Atlantic City as the
destination. The choice is not an accident. It is designed to showcase
to the world a city that promises to be a tourist haven, with the
largest shopping mall in sub-Saharan Africa,” the Minister said.

He said the UNWTO/CAF Meeting will be attended mostly by delegates
drawn from the 51 member states of the Commission for Africa, the
Executives of the UNWTO, international Organizations, local and
international
media as well as experts and stakeholders from the public and private sector.