Jamoh stated this at the 6th National Tourism Transportation Summit and Expo organised by the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria, in collaboration with the Ministries of Transportation, Aviation, Information and Culture at the International Conference Centre Abuja.

Speaking on the topic, “Tourism and the Development of Nigeria’s Blue Economy,” Jamoh observed that investment must not necessarily involve huge materials and human capital, noting that, like other economic sectors, small and medium scale business was also possible to generate the amount of jobs and other economic benefits associated with the tourism sector.

According to Jamoh, “I must acknowledge here that tourism is one sector that Nigeria is doing very well. But unfortunately, the marine tourism component is one area where we are currently lagging behind when compared to other economies of the world. I am fascinated, and must commend the organisers of this event, because a Well-managed tourism sector can support conservation while contributing to sustainable development and providing income opportunities and a higher quality of life.”

Speaking further, Jamoh correlated the relationship between NIMASA, maritime potential and the tourism sector, noting that maritime safety and security was sacrosanct for marine tourism development. He stressed that there was need for stakeholders to support all engagements and policies statement of government on preservation of Nigeria’s biodiversity, maritime ecosystem and other endowments, which are valuable assets for marine tourism development.

He also noted that the benefits from tourism would only be achieved with security guarantees, suggesting that this couldbe achieved by closing gaps and linking associated cities through building of infrastructure, while the bodies of water between them are used for tourist attractions.

“Research shows that the Oceans economy is worth about 20 trillion in dollars. These include the fishing, pharmaceutical and the renewable energy industries. Therefore, we have to develop, preserve and protect our maritime endowments and link these industries appropriately, to achieve the desired goal. As an Agency of government, NIMASA will always play that complementary role of supporting economic growth and development. We have invested a lot in acquisition and deployment ofmaritime security assets, so I urge stakeholders in the maritime sector to take advantage of what we have done and invest in relevant marine tourism areas because our waters are now safe,” Jamoh said.

He called for proactive measures, stressing that pollution tion of marine and freshwater resources, soil and land resources, desertification and salinification due to excessive water use, overuse of fertilizers, erosion, air pollution, loss of cultural resources, and social disruption could be result of marine tourism development.

The 6th National Tourism Transportation Summit, aimed at discovering and exploring the opportunities in the Nigeria tourism sector was themed, “AFCFTA: Exploring Intra-African Trade, Tourism and Transportation Opportunities and Mitigating the Barriers to Collaboration.”

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Despite investing in building vehicle assembly plants across the country, the industry is still producing below capacity as many Nigerians still depend on importation to meet the demand for cars.

BusinessDay understands that policy inconsistency by the government and high exchange rates, as well as a scarcity of foreign exchange, are among the issues affecting the growth of the industry in Nigeria.

First, the non-signing of the much-awaited Nigeria Automobile Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) bill into law after several promises by the Federal Government that the present administration will see to the enactment of the bill, has also limited the growth of the industry.

Second, the short supply of foreign exchange and the high rate of exchanging naira to the dollar that makes it near impossible for businesses in Nigeria to access forex at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate is seriously hurting the auto industry.

Vehicle assembly plants in Nigeria need to bring in vehicle spare parts and vehicular components in completely knocked down (CKD) and semi-knocked down (SKD) formats for the cars to assemble locally.

Kunle Jaiyesimi of the Auto & Allied sub-Sectoral group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry told journalists that the failure of the present administration to pass the Nigeria Automobile Industry Development Plan is affecting the industry negatively.

As a result of that, he said that the policy which ought to have been implemented in phases starting with semi-knocked down SKD1, SKD2 and SKD3, and expected to have progressed to CKD by now, is still at SKD.
According to him, the poor performance of the nation’s steel industry is also affecting the production of parts needed to manufacture vehicle spare parts in-country.

While pointing out that companies now prefer to bring in Fully Built Units (FBUs) than assemble in Nigeria, he said that is why only less than six assembly plants are now operational in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, NADDC boss listed companies such as Dangote, Sinotrucks, Innoson, Elizade, Lanre Shittu, Honda West Africa, Mikano and Nord among those that are currently producing vehicles in the country.
Aliyu said that these companies and their assembly plants are located in Lagos, Nnewi, Kaduna and Kano while some are beginning to come up in Bauchi, Kano and Ogun states.

He added that the aforementioned companies have a combined capacity of producing up to 400,000 vehicles per year.
Giving his view on the impact of the 2014 automotive policy, Kenechukwu Udo, a Lagos-based car dealer told BusinessDay that he does not see the value being added by the assembly plants to the nation’s economy.
He said that many Nigeria will not be able to afford cars that are assembled in Nigeria because they are usually brand new and very expensive cars.

“How many Nigerians can afford brand-new vehicles? This is why over 75 percent of Nigerians still rely on used cars popularly known as tokunbo to meet their personal car use. It is only big companies in Nigeria and the government officials that are patronising the assembling plants,” he added.

Recall that the Federal Government initiated an Automotive Policy in 2014 to provide a framework that will support automobile companies, encourage local manufacturing of vehicles and phase out the importation of used vehicles.
The policy known as the Nigeria Automobile Industry Development Plan, represents the Federal Government’s bold step at reviving local car assembly in over three decades. It is also targeted at creating jobs, stimulating the value chain, diversifying the Nigerian economy, and providing affordable cars to Nigerians.

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The federal agency expressed readiness to take the sector to the next level via partnerships, collaborations, regulations and revenue generation.

The change of name followed the assent of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority Act, 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Director-General, Folorunsho Coker said the new law will also boost collaboration between the federal government and states.

“We must understand that if the laws are not right, investments will not come in”, Coker told NAN.

“South Africa and Kenya amended their laws during COVID-19 pandemic and they thrived, but we did not.”

The official disclosed he would soon meet with all Commissioners of Tourism in Abuja for discussions.

Noting that legal frameworks helped the telecommunication and banking sectors to achieve positive results, he said “It is time for tourism to flourish”.

Coker assured that with NTDA in effect, tourism will witness new initiatives that will sanitise the sector and generate huge revenue.

The Nigerian Tourism Development Authority Act 2022 repeals the NTDC Act Cap N137 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The aim of the new law is to develop and promote Nigeria as a travel and tourism destination.

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