Mrs. Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism, has lamented that though Epe town in Lagos State has enormous tourism potentials, the tourist attractions were not properly maintained.
The Minister made the observation after taking a tour of of
tourism sites within Epe town.
Some of the tourism sites she visited were the Oju Alaro
Shrine, the Marina Waterfront, Palace of Oloja of Epe and some iconic colonial
buildings.
Speaking after the visit, the Minister said she was quite
elated by the the enormous tourism potential within Epe town, but expressed
displeasure that the tourist attractions were not properly maintained.
She said the community members must begin to see tourism as
a money spinner which could engage them positively.
He urged the state and local governments to constantly
sensitise Epe residents on the need to maintain those sites.
“The local government must work on sensitising the locals to
always ensure these sites are neat and tidy, it won’t attract tourists if they
are left like this.
“I have just seen that Epe has more colonial buildings than
Lagos township, I urge you to keep what you have, treasure and nurture these
sites.
“Epe is a beautiful place to be, with beautiful beaches,
mangroves, seafoods and all; these are what the backpackers want to see.
“We are going to help you advertise what you have so that
people can visit Epe more than ever before but the sites must be made neat,”
she said.
The minister urged the Lagos State Government to build a
proper fish market capable of attracting tourists.
“I was at Makoko Fish Market to get some fishes for myself
as early as 6.30a.m, I was surprised to see lots of foreigners and different
types of seafoods, honestly, we are indeed blessed.
“I think the state government need to build a more
attractive fish market to further promote tourism, so that people can travel
here to see and buy.
“The mangroves we have in Epe here can be made to be like
the Amazon forest in Brazil where tourists pay hugely to watch.
“It is painful that we do not appreciate what we have, we
need to help people change their mindsets,” she said.
In a response, Mr Tobun Abiodun representing Epe
Constituency 1, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, promised to work on the
sensitisation for the community members.
He said “We will work on all the complaint and we assure you
that very soon we are going to start competing with other local government in
the state and ensure Epe takes the lead in terms of tourism.” NAN
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