Lagos Inaugurates COVID-19 Review Committee For Tourism, Entertainment Industry

The six-man committee chaired by Mrs. Joke Silva, MFR, is expected to draw out suggestions and recommendations on how to re-activate the State creative industry, which has remained dormant as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the world.

The Honourable Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Pharm. (Mrs) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, while inaugurating the Committee at Alausa, on Thursday, explained that the members are expected to make recommendations to the State government on ways to rejuvenate its economy, particularly the Tourism and Entertainment industry.

In her words: “The situation in the world today was not pre-determined. This is where we are and this is what we have seen happening to us. The tourism sector is one of the worst-hit sectors by this pandemic because, on a daily basis, Lagos records new cases and we must not shy away from the fact that COVID-19 is still with us”.

“Everywhere is shut down. The airline operators are not operating, there is nothing like Art exhibitions, and hospitality businesses have been put on hold. So, we want to find a way to sustain our economy and the industry, even with the pandemic and see how best we can continue to improve on the creative sector”, she added.

The Commissioner highlighted some of the terms of reference for the Committee, which is expected to submit its reports in two weeks, to include conducting a holistic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and come up with recommendations on the short and long term palliatives with respect to soft loans and grants, to assuage the negative impact of the scourge on the industry.