By Tokunbo Ogunsami
Lagos State Government has assured practitioners in the tourism sector of palliatives that will assuage the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It assured them of a soft landing after the pandemic.
The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with executive members of the tourism associations, said that the meeting was convened to develop a coordinated relationship with the practitioners, to engender a win-win situation and provide a smooth take-off of activities in the sector after the pandemic.
Akinbile-Yusuf, a pharmacist, said that the present situation of Covid-19, which had posed a great challenge to the collective goals of all sectors, was of concern not only to members of the association, but also the state government.
She said that the decision of the government to suspend tourism related activities was painful, but was an indispensable move needed to control the spread of the virus.
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The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Solomon Bonu, said that the government was considering the re-ordering of the Year 2020 budget, to refocus the direction of the government expenditure in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “The truth is that the government is also affected by this pandemic. For instance, the price of crude oil, which is one of the major sources of revenue to the government, has fallen drastically, ditto the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.”
The President of Federation of Tourism Association, Lagos State chapter, Mr. Gbenga Sunmonu, who spoke on behalf of the practitioners, thanked the government for carrying them along in its decisions.
He restated the determination of members to give the government support in following the operational guidelines already released by the government.
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