From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has described the advisory from the United States Mission in Abuja, for citizens to avoid major hotels in larger cities, as needless.
Last Friday, the US Mission warned its citizens to steer clear of “major hotels” in larger cities in Nigeria, based on “elevated threat” to those facilities.
“The US Department of State also advised citizens to consider this information when arranging lodging and visiting major hotels in Nigeria,” the advisory noted.
The US Mission would, however, concede in the advisory that “the Nigerian security services are working diligently to counter the threat.”
But, at an interactive session with media executives in Abuja, yesterday, the minister said the advisory could trigger panic and affect the country’s economy. Idris insisted that the advisory was of no benefit as it would only create panic in the country.
He said: “We understand the concerns raised by the United States government in their recent travel advisory, but believe that it is imperative that we do not generalise isolated incidents across the entire hospitality industry. What we have seen is that such advisories do not achieve anything other than needless panic, and they can have severe adverse economic impact, not to talk of what they do to undermine the government’s efforts to attract investment.
“We have consistently prioritised the safety and well-being of all visitors to our country. We have implemented comprehensive security measures, both at the federal and state levels, to ensure the safety of tourists and international guests. These measures include intense intelligence gathering, acquisition and deployment of additional platforms, training and re-training of personnel, cooperation with international law enforcement agencies, among others, to maintain a secure environment.”
Asked how much has accrued to the Federal Government with the removal of fuel subsidy, as well as disbursement from the Infrastructure Fund, Idris replied: “Because it’s a continuous exercise, I can’t give you a figure right now. So much money has been saved by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
“The federal government has given support to the state governments because the government believes that people reside within the states and the best people to reach them are the state governors.
The grains and assorted fertilisers were actually given to the states, including the FCT, directly. So some of these monies that were saved have been given as interim and short and medium term measures; to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
“I don’t have the figures right here because it keeps changing by the day. The figure keeps growing. The figure we have today will change by tomorrow; depending on accruals.”