* Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
…Says Minister May Not Achieve Desired Result If…
…Action Will Further Divide The Ranks Of NTDC, Tourism Industry
The Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET), an umbrella body of travel and tourism journalists in the country, has cautioned the Minster of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, over happenings at the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) that has seen the appointment of three Acting Director Generals (ADGs) for the tourism body within five months.
In an online statement issued today, the body described the trend as creating instability as well as tainting stakeholders’ confidence in Nigeria tourism in addition to dampening the enthusiasm of the agency’s workforce.
Recalled that that a circular issued from the Office of the Head of Service(HoS), Friday, had announced the appointment of another Acting Director General, Dr Paul Adalikwu, for the tourism regulatory agency, barely two months after Mrs. Mariel Rae – Omoh assumed duties.
Adalikwu, a director in the Ministry of Water Resources, who served as aide to immediate past Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, was appointed in an acting capacity pending the confirmation of his appointment.
It the same vein Rae – Omoh in December last year had taken over from a senior director at the NTDC, Mr. Boniface Eboka, who was appointed in November as ADG following the sack of Mrs. Sally Uwechue – Mbanefo as Executive Director.
Based on these facts, ANJET is of the opinion that the frequent change of leadership at the NTDC spells a negative indicator for the industry capable of further worsening the fortunes of tourism, which is still struggling to make any impact in the country’s dwindling economy.
“We believe the minister may not have been informed about the true state of affairs at the NTDC before these appointments which has seen four different acting DGs all in a space of five months, in the same NTDC. We restate that we are not against the recent appointment of Dr. Paul Adalikwu. However, we frown at the spate of appointments and changes at the helm of affairs at the corporation, which we believe does not augur well for business in the tourism industry or even at the NTDC itself, especially the morale of the workforce” the statement reads in part.
ANJET continued, “This position is also in view of the sack of up to 15 senior members of staff in the gale of terminations which swept through the corporation last Friday. These frequent appointments can only damage the confidence of stakeholders and other investors alike in the industry which is still struggling to find headway in a difficult economy like ours. We are of the opinion that wave of appointment of acting DGs under five months is not the panacea to solving the myriad of problems at the NTDC or in the tourism subsector of the country. The action of the minister, therefore, can only be a recipe for worsening the problems at the NTDC rather than solving it. This is aside the unwholesome prospects instability, disharmony and mistrust among the staff in the corporation which these changes portend.”
The travel and tourism journalists body warned that if the Federal Government insists on continuing with this present change, ANJET believe that the desired purpose envisaged by the minister may not be achieved, as it would rather divide the ranks of NTDC and that of the industry, whose confidence and thrust would have been eroded by the action of the minister, which by implication means Adalikwu may not enjoy seamless support from the industry and his staff.
