The Nigerian Press Council (NPC), in collaboration with the governments of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, has unveiled plans to document the economic and tourism potentials available in each state of the federation in order to attract tourists and investors to the country.
The Executive Secretary of the NPC, Dr Dili Ezugha, who stated this at the inaugural meeting of the committee for the publication of the book, said the purpose was to highlight the economic and tourism profiles of Nigeria and accelerate the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said the book titled “Nigeria: Documenting the Economic and Tourism Profiles of the States and the Federal Capital Territory” will provide readers with “invaluable information on the economy and the tourism potential of each state.
Ezugha said the publication will become a repository of current, authoritative and comprehensive data on the population, key demographic and economic indicators of each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to him, “the Nigerian Press Council has taken it upon itself to execute this laudable publication project is not surprising, as it is within its ambit.
“8Section 3(b) of the enabling law of the Nigerian Press Council states that the function of the NPC shall include, ‘researching into contemporary press development and engaging in updating press documentation.’
“To this end, the Nigerian Press Council embarked on this project to complement the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration’s efforts to accelerate Nigeria’s economic development, and support the economic and tourism initiative of state and local government.
“It goes without saying that the present administration’s renewed hope agenda exists at a time when Nigeria and the multiplicity of its resources generation present abundant opportunity that can guarantee the economic and social well-being of the people,” he said.
According to him, the book is predicated on four keys, which are: Strengthening Nigeria’s democracy to foster a stable and inclusive political environment, Serving as the developmental drive to boost economic growth and improve the living standard of our people.
“Harnessing demographic advantages such that Nigeria can leverage on her youthful population for growth and constructively engaging Nigerians in Diaspora in such a way that the country can tap into the resources and expertise of Nigerians abroad”
He explained that the book has eight page profiles of each state and the FCT that provides reliable, up-to-date information on a wide range of topics including population, labour force, disposable income, investors’ incentive and more.
The governor of Nasarawa state, Abdullahi Sule, in his remarks on behalf of the governor, commended the Executive Secretary of NPC for the initiative.
The representative of Nasarawa state on the committee, who is also the chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra, said the state governors are willing to explore the existing tourism potentials in their states in order to attract tourists.
Giving further details on the project, the Managing Director/ CEO of Baltimore Tax and Financial Consults, Mr. Tajudeen Toyin-Oke, who is a consultant on the project, said the essence of the book is about making a case to invest in Nigeria.
He said more than one million copies of the book will be printed and given to all Nigerian embassies in the world, high commissions in Nigeria, all Nigerian international airports and government institutions.
He added that there would be 500 million copies online for people to download for free.
