In the quest for non-oil revenue, the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has disclosed his readiness to meet the state’s targets in the tourism sector.
He said this was the essence of ongoing reforms in the culture, arts and tourism sector, which would will ensure the influx of at least one million tourists into the state annually.
Obaseki Extols Exemplary Life Of Late Dennis Evbuomwan
Obaseki, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said the government is focusing on the state’s tourism and culture assets to improve internally generated revenue in line with the government’s plan of diversifying the economy.
He said: “Our goal is to make sure that in about five years’ time, our transformation in this sector will attract a minimum of one million people to the state yearly to see our culture, forests and environment.
“This will lead to tourists spending dollars in the state and it will boost the economy as the money will be bigger than any budget of the state. We are encouraging tourism, culture and arts to diversify our economy and creating jobs for our people and young ones. All these can be possible if only we get support and commitment from our people.”
Reiterating the government’s commitment to environmental sustainability, stressed that in 2023, there was a need to clean and green Edo State. He said the government would require the cooperation and commitment of citizens to achieve this.
His words: “We should take the issue of our environment seriously, as climate change sets in. It is doing a lot of damage to our environment. If you look at Benin City and many cities around the world, you will not believe that Edo is in the rain forest as there is a massive deforestation of the land and it’s a big threat to us.
“We are experiencing a serious increase in rainfall. When the rain falls, there is nothing to hold it and it’s causing massive erosion across the state. To tackle this, we will be coming to you next year to appeal for your support to stop this threat. We will be needing the cooperation of our traditional, religious leaders and other stakeholders as we build our natural environment yet again.
The governor further noted, “The Edo State civil and public servants have been amazing. They have great potential. We are amazed by their output and proud to say that the Edo State Civil Service has achieved greatly as no state, not even the federal government, has achieved as much.
“With over 4,000 computers deployed across the civil service, today over 70 per cent of our civil servants prepare their files and papers on our e-government platform and by the time we would be leaving office on November 11, 2024, Edo will not only have stopped using physical files but operate digital services to develop the state.”
