The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, received the blueprint for tourism development in the state, reassuring that the government will ensure the implementation of the masterplan to boost tourism receipts in line with the vision of diversifying the state’s economy.
The governor received the blueprint from the Edo Tourism Master Plan Steering Committee Alternate Chairman, Bismarck Rewane, at the Government House, Benin City.
Obaseki said, “I thank the Steering Committee for putting together a world-class document, which is the Edo State Tourism Master Plan. Our tradition, as an administration, is to be articulate in our planning.
“Planning for us is not just about documents but a process where we get experts to help illuminate the roadmap to where we are going and produce a living document which we must continue to update, leading us to a clearer path.
“This is a critical document to us as a state as we must diversify our economy; we are just too blessed not to take advantage of our endowments. Centuries ago, our economy was well diversified as we have natural and cultural assets. We need to organize ourselves to attract investors into our state.”
He continued: “All aspects of government must work for the success of the master plan to achieve the desired result. This blueprint of the master plan is the beginning of a process and each agency of government must contribute to the success of the plan.
“We wait to see the draft law. I am going to be issuing an executive order immediately in the New Year to commence this while the bill is being finalised and sent to the House of Assembly. We need to finalise the details, plans and execution plan for the Cultural District to enable us time it. We have a lot of work to do and if we do it right, I just can’t imagine where we will be as a state.”
“This project has exposed us to a lot of things. We will put enough resources to ensure we pass an enduring legacy. Crude oil is no longer an option as we have the natural resources to turn our economy around and tourism is part of them,” the governor added.
On his part, Bismark Rewane noted, “The tourism sector will employ a lot of people. It will stop our younger ones from running to Europe by creating opportunities for employment.
“We are very optimistic about the prospects and potential of this project and committed to the facts that this project must work and be institutionalized; it will have a future.”
