The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), the umbrella body for tourism operators in the private sector, will host its annual general meeting (AGM) and general election for 2021, today, Thursday, July 8, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Acting president of FTAN, Nkereuwem Onung, who was formerly the first deputy president until April when he assumed the leadership of the federation following the death of the president, Alhaji Saleh Rabo, on April 16, said that the event would be a watershed in the annals of the federation, as it is expected to usher in a new era for the federation and tourism development.
Billed to hold at Rockview Hotel (Royale) in Wuse Zone 2, he expressed delight at the prospect of the AGM bringing together various stakeholders and members of the federation to deliberate on its affairs, periscope and chart a new path for Nigeria’s tourism development. A befitting tribute, he said would also be paid to Rabo, a renowned tourism operator, who served as the president of the federation between July 2017 and April 16, 2021. He said Rabo’s death was a great loss to the body and Nigerian tourism, therefore, the AGM, which is the first to be held since his death, would be in his honour, as his various contributions to the body, which he led for eight years, would be celebrated. His tenure as two-term president would have ended at this AGM.
The gathering is the 24th in the series of AGMs of the body and it is expected to draw the attention of various tourism associations and operators as well as allied sectors of the economy in the country, including the federal, state and local governments, who are expected to attend in their numbers and make presentations on the state of their tourism development and promotion. The theme of the AGM is “Constitution review as it affects tourism development in Nigeria,” with Barrister Chineye Oragwu, a partner at Calmhill Partners and second vice president, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality of the section of business law of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as the guest speaker and keynote address presenter. Members of the panel include Professor Wasiu Babalola FIH from Hotel Mgt and Tourism Department, Atiba University, Oyo, and honorary chairman, Institute of Hospitality UK-Nigeria International, Alhaji Ahmed Branch Ojuolape, managing director of Empire Travel Services Limited, while the host ministers are the Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Minister for State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijani Aliyu. Other guests are the directors-general of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe and Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Folorunsho Coker, among others.