NAN-H-20
Tourism
Lokoja, Oct. 7, 2017 (NAN) The Federal and State Governments have been urged to pay more attention to the development of tourism sector to create jobs for youths in the country.
Retired Rear Adm. Ibrahim Idris, the Walin of Lokoja, made the plea on Saturday in Lokoja, at the maiden edition of the Lokoja Boat Regatta Festival.
Idris said that the sector had been left undeveloped for too long to the detriment of the country’s economic development.
While speaking as the chairman of the occasion, he called for a change of attitude to the sector from the two tiers of government.
According to him, the country has a lot to gain from the tourism sector because of its jobs creation and foreign exchange earning potential.
He said that tourism should be accorded the same attention being given to the agriculture by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to further widen the internally generated revenue base of the country.
Idris commended the Lokoja Forum of Patriots (LFP) for resuscitating the boat regatta festival which he described as the traditional festival of the indigenous people of Lokoja.
Also, Alhaji Shiru Lawal, the Administrator of Lokoja Local Government, said that he had initiated a move with the state government to develop the tourism sites in the council area.
Lawal identified confluence of River Niger and River Benue, Mount Patti, Lord Luggard Resting Place, Iron of Liberty, World War Cenotaph as some of the tourist sites waiting to be developed to standards in Lokoja.
He pledged his total support for the festival, saying the council would ensure that it hold the festival on yearly basis.
Alhaji Idris Babaango, the Chairman, Lokoja Forum of Patriots (LFP), said that the organisation decided to leverage on the traditional festival to further promote unity and understanding among the various ethnic groups.
He also said that it was aimed at projecting the unique position of Lokoja in Nigeria and use its creative resources to attract local and foreign tourists.
Babaango thanked the people for embracing the festival enthusiastically, promising that efforts would be made to sustain and improve upon the subsequent editions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the festival featured swimming and rowing competitions among seven districts.
Trophies and prizes were distributed to winners by the Roggan of Eggan, Alhaji Alhassan Idris, who was the royal father of the day. (NAN)
KKA/GOK
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye