Ondo State Commissioner for Regional Integration and Diaspora Relations, Prince ‘Boye Ologbese
A tourist centre in the form of a museum in the South West through the Diaspora Smart City tagged “Green Economy Initiative Project”, is in the offing.
To be sited in Ondo State the planned museum will be a tourism hub for the SouthWest Regional Development Centre for promoting cultural heritage, attracting the Diaspora community, and enabling foreigners to reconnect with their roots.
Ondo State Commissioner for Regional Integration and Diaspora Relations, Prince ‘Boye Ologbese disclosed these when he presented a paper in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital penultimate week during a meeting of focal representatives from the six South Western Regional states, including Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos.
These were in a statement by the ministry’s spokesman, Mr.Bisi Agboola.
Ondo State Governor Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa recently at the State Executive Council meeting approved the establishment of the Diaspora Smart City tagged “Green Economy lnitiative” to promote economic potentials and increase the lnternally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the entire SouthWest region through tourism.
He stressed the building of a “Mini Dubai” in Akure for the region to showcase our tourism potential and cultural heritage to the world and tackle the climate change issues at the same time.
According to the commissioner, “This is a diversification of the economy we are trying to introduce to the region; a complete ecosystem that will affect the region through the Green Economy Initiative since we do not want to rely on Federal Allocation-FAAC as the only source of revenue to drive our government business activities in the region, but to put a legacy that will promote robust economic growth for our region.”
Ologbese highlighted the advantages of floating such joint tourism hubs. They include raising the revenue generation of each state; opening up of the states to the outside world, and promoting entrepreneurship and creating employment opportunities for the youths across the region.
He assured that the six states involved would be allocated plots of land to build their respective museums to showcase their tourism potential.
The Commissioner commended the Director General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Dr. Seye Oyeleye for hosting the focal representative meeting which will further promote the Unity of South West Region.
This is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewal Hope Agenda” of creating the SouthWest Development Commission that will work with the DAWN Commission to actualise the region’s growth and development.
Oogbese appreciated the efforts of Ondo and Ekiti States’ Governors Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and Abiodun Oyebanji. He noted that both states established business integration, the first of its kind since the creation of the two states, towards which the museum project can be tailored.
In attendance at the Cocoa House, Ibadan meeting, apart from Ologbese, were Ekiti State Commissioner for Regional lntegration and lnter-Governmental Affairs, Dr. Kareem; Special Adviser to the Governor, Regional integration, Osun State, Dr. Kamal Adekilekun; Senior Special Assistant, Special Duties and SDG, Ogun State, Mr. Damilola Otubanjo; Executive Director, Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Oyo State, Alhaji Bello Kolawole; and the Director General, DAWN Commission, Dr.’Seye Oyeleye, among others.
