NEWS
Ebonyi State Hosts it’s First Regional Summit of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA).
From Sylvia Udegbunam Enugu
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has said it will partner with Ebonyi State Government with a view to boosting tourism in the eastern region.
National Vice President of NANTA, Eastern zone, Hope Ehogie disclosed this while briefing journalists in Abakaliiki on their meeting with Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State on Saturday.
Ehogie stated that Ebonyi State has huge untapped tourism potentials, stressing that the tourism industry had the capacity of addressing the nation’s job deficits if well harnessed.
According to him, they had a fruitful deliberation with the governor during which it unveiled the plans it has to set the state’s tourism sector on a path of economic boom.
He noted that leveraging the enormous tourism potentials in the state would lead to job creation, youth employment, poverty reduction and increase in revenue generation to the state.
“We had a wonderful session with the governor of Ebonyi; he was open and welcoming, we had to introduce the association, the plans we have and how we have seen the potentials in Ebonyi.
“Now we are setting up a committee to bring strategic ideas on how to influence and bring in new narratives to Ebonyi to encourage tourism and people coming in, how to influence the inflow of the inbound tourism which we have seen a lot of potentials.
“People think that when you talk of Ebonyi what they think about is insecurity, so, we came here to see that that narrative is changing and we will do our own part.
“We will be collaborating with the government with whatever plan they have; we will be bringing plans and proposals also to the state government on the areas they can focus on and we will be working with them to sell Ebonyi as a beautiful tourist destination.
“The governor was open and assured us of his full support; and, I believe that the nation should be ready for a dynamic Ebonyi and NANTA will make that happen,” Ehogie said.
Ehogie further noted that the association recognised the enormous potentials in the tourism industry in the 11 states of the eastern region adding that the body was committed to ensuring that economic benefits inherent in the tourism industry were b harnessed in the zone.
“If we don’t bring out what we have in each of our 11 states, the world will have a fragmented picture about the zone.
“In Ebonyi for instance, you have commercial rice mill clusters and that’s a good platform for agro-tourism, people should be able to travel to the east, to Ebonyi to buy their rice; there is this fear of insecurity when you talk about the east, but we are here, Ebonyi is a serene environment,” he added.
Mrs Eucharia Ofoke, Ebonyi Coordinator of NANTA said that the summit was the first physical meeting of the association to hold in Ebonyi adding that members would be exposed to huge tourism potentials that abound in the state.
A participant, Mrs Chioma Igwe, representing Lofish travels and tour limited said that NANTA is an umbrella body of the accredited travel agencies operating in Nigeria and duly licensed to operate.
According to her, the association was responsible for regulating activities of practitioners and promote ethical standard in the industry.
She urged people seeking travel visas and other engagements with foreign countries to engage services of registered travel agencies.
Also speaking, Mrs Chioma Obi, Enugu State Coordinator of NANTA and Managing Director of JandsTravel Network and Jands Travel Business School said that the association was formed to provide a platform for regulation and protection of the industry against quacks and fraudsters.
“NANTA is body of travel professionals; each of us here has our agency and somebody who has a business, who is making profits from that business will do everything possible to protect it.
“That’s why we have come together, to look for ways to protect our business and some of the things we protect our business from, is scandal, from scams and from fraud because when these things come up it’s our business that is affected in one way or the other.
“Somebody who gets scammed today will look at other agencies as scammers.
“So, what NANTA does is to create awareness that there is an association that looks into activities of agencies, observes and checkmates fraud through knowledge and training, with the partnership of Jands Travel Business School, Abilfat Travel Training Center as well as other schools with NANTA Eastern Zone.
Whatever travel agencies in this case in the eastern region are doing,” she said.
NANTA, Eastern Region is holding its first regional summit in Abakaliiki, Ebonyi State capital.
The body took a working visit to the Chuba Okadigbo International Airport, Abakaliki and the Ebonyi Rice Mill complex respectively.
Niger Government has established the state Price Control and Monitoring Board, approved by Gov. Umaru Bago to ensure fair pricing and consumer protection.
Alh. Abubakar Usman, Secretary to the Niger Government (SSG), inaugurated members of the board on Thursday in Minna.
The eight-member board has Alh.
Hussaini Ahmed, a former Permanent Secretary as the chairman.Usman noted that the inauguration of the board marked a significant step in the state’s commitment to ensuring fair pricing and consumer protection.
He said that the board was expected to control and stabilise prices of essential commodities and eradicate or reduce to the barest minimum, hoarding of essential commodities across the state.
He said that board would also handle issues that may arise as a result of enforcement and penalty for contravention of guidelines among several others.
“The board will be responsible for the distribution, monitoring and evaluation of essential commodities and keep price under continuous surveillance.
“They will also interpret price movement and relate them to other development in the State’s economy,” Usman said.
He said the board was expected to interface with relevant stakeholders such as local government chairmen, traditional institutions and councilors and well as market organisations to ensure the success of their mandate.
The SSG enjoined members of board to bring their wealth of experience and expertise in economics, consumer affairs and market dynamics to bear in their assignment.
He said that their appointment underscored the government’s dedication to maintaining economic stability and safeguarding the interests of both consumers and businesses in the state.
In his remarks, the board chairman, Ahmed, assured that the board would interface with relevant stakeholders within and outside the state in order to bring succour to the populace.
Other members of the board include Hamza Bello, Permanent Secretary, Investment, Aliyu Abubakar, Permanent Secretary, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Garba Abdullahi, from Ministry of Basic Education.
Also on the board are Adamu Maikasuwa, Ministry of Agriculture, DCP Aminu Garba, Nigeria Police, Niger Command, Aminu Ladan, Chairman, Chanchaga Local Government Area and Usman Liman, retired Statistician-General as Secretary of the Board. (NAN)
The Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), has shared N1.298 trillion among the Federal Government, states, and the Local Government Councils (LGCs) for September.
This is according to a communique issued at the end of FAAC meeting for October held on Thursday in Abuja.
The communiqué was made available to newsmen by Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF).
According to the communiqué, N1.
298 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N124.716 billion, and distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N543.518 billion.It also comprised Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N18.
445 billion, Exchange Difference revenue of N462.191 billion and Augmentation of N150.000 billion.It said that a total revenue of N2.258 trillion was available in the month of September.
“Total deduction for cost of collection was N80.993 billion, while total transfers, interventions and refunds was N878.946 billion,” it said.
According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N1.043 trillion was received in September 2024, which was lower than the sum of N1.221 trillion received in August by N177.426 billion.
It said that gross revenue of N583.675 billion was available from VAT in September, higher than the N573.341 billion available in the month of August by N10.334 billion.
“From the N1.298 trillion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N424.867 billion, and the state governments received a total sum of N453.724 billion.
“The LGCs received a total sum of N329.864 billion and a total sum of N90.415 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue,” it said.
On the N124.716 billion statutory revenue, the communiqué said that the Federal Government received N43.037 billion and the state governments received N21.829 billion, while the LGCs received N16.829 billion.
It said that the sum of N43.021 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.
“From the N543.518 billion VAT revenue, the Federal Government received N81.528 billion, the state governments received N271.759 billion and the LGCs received N190.231 billion,” it said.
It said that in September, Oil and Gas Royalty, Excise Duty, EMTL and CET Levies increased considerably while VAT and Import Duty increased marginally.
It added that Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and others recorded significant decreases. (NAN)
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has reiterated the importance of strict adherence to traffic laws, emphasising the prohibition of commercial motorcycles on highways and other restricted routes.
Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, the General Manager, said this in a statement on Thursday, signed by Mr Taofiq Adebayo, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA.
Bakare-Oki said that non-compliance with the regulations not only jeopardised the safety of the riders but also endangered the lives of other road users.
The statement came following the death of a motorcycle rider going against traffic on Carter Bridge, due to a collision with a fast-moving vehicle.
Bakare-Oki noted that the deceased, reportedly traveling from Ebute Ero, collided head-on with a fast-moving vehicle as it ascended Carter Bridge from Ilubirin.
“The forceful impact of the collision led to the immediate death of the motorcyclist while the vehicle driver ran away.
“Personnel from the LASTMA promptly arrived at the scene of the accident and swiftly alerted officers from the Central Police Station at Adeniji Adele and Shemo.
“Together, they coordinated efforts to retrieve the lifeless body of the rider, while LASTMA officials handed over the motorcycle to security authorities for further investigation,” he said.
The LASTMA boss extended his heartfelt sympathy to the family of the deceased.
“LASTMA remains committed to upholding public safety and is intensifying its efforts to minimise the occurrence of such tragic incidents on Lagos roads,” he said. (NAN)
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