Home » Otunba Runsewe, Former DG NTDC breaks silence on tourism, commends NATOP

Otunba Runsewe, Former DG NTDC breaks silence on tourism, commends NATOP

by Atqnews
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By Renn Offor

Former Director – General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Otunba Segun Runsewe has broken his two year-silence after leaving the office and expressed sadness at the poor attention to tourism in the past two years and wondered why some stakeholders could not challenge and correct the ugly draw back in Nigeria, even as he commends NATOP for their continued effort in marketing Nigeria as a destination to attract tourists.

Otunba Runsewe equally called on tourism practitioners ‘to wake up to their responsibilities by tracking the activities of Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) and holding their leaders accountable’.

This he said, effectively breaking a long silence on tourism issues since he was removed from office two years ago for alleged political association with former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

It would be recalled that NATOP, at its 2016 AGM recently in Calabar honoured Otunba Runsewe along with some tourism pioneers. NATOP recognized Runsewe for his effort in repositioning NATOP and Nigerian tourism during his time.. Other recipients are Mr. Ikechi Uko of Atq Tours, Mrs. Fati Garbati of Speed Tours, Mr. Chike Osuagwu, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Emeka Anokwuru of The Sun newspapers.

image005NTDC under Otunba Runsewe registered NATOP and its members with NTDC and for the first time invited them to man the Nigerian stand at the World Travel Market.

Runsewe who was a recipient of NATOP award for major and historical tourism contribution during his tenure in office, noted that , ‘time has come to rebrand the industry, appreciating the fact that tourism is better than oil because it is the highest employer of labour in the world’.

He however commended NATOP for showing ‘robust capacity to analyse national tourism issues’, and also for having a sense of history for choosing to confer an award on him for his modest contribution to growth of Nigerian tourism.

image007In a letter to the president of NATOP dated 19th February, and personally signed by him, Otunba Runsewe who is now the chairman Golf Garden Waterfront, an upscale golf sports tourism resort in Abuja and first of its kind in Africa, stated that NATOP has always played vital roles in setting the tourism message right in Nigeria.

Urging NATOP to remain steadfast, Runsewe pleaded that ‘all hands must be on deck to reposition tourism as a critical sector of Nigeria’s economy’.

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