Gbenro Adesina
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ademola Akeem Ige today assured of the readiness of the government of Oyo State to revive all moribund tourist sites in the state.
According to him, this is with a view to making them serve as additional source of internally generated revenue for the government as well as employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the State.
Hon. Ige revealed this shortly after he paid an on the spot assessment to the Ibadan Bower’s Tower located at Agala area, Oke Are, Ibadan.
The visit was to ascertain the condition of the tourist site popularly known as ‘Layipo’ which is hitherto in comatose situation as a result of neglect by the previous administration in the state.
Bower Tower is the highest hilltop in Ibadan, giving a panoramic view of important points in the city.
Expressing displeasure over the deplorable state of the Tower, he said, “It is quite shameful that heritage of this magnitude in Ibadan, the state capital, is wasting away but we have to do whatever is necessary to revive it to make it functional very soon”.
“His Excellency, Engr Seyi Makinde is determined to make Oyo state a preferred tourism destinations for both local and foreign tourists and that is why we will not leave any stone unturned in developing our tourism sites. Few weeks ago, we placed an advert on newspaper to invite investors to come and partner with the government in developing some or all of these tourist sites and I am happy to inform you that appreciable number of investors have already signified their interest to partner with the government”.
