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By Anthony Isaac
The Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, has urged Ministries and Agencies of government, as well as corporate bodies to partner with the Yobe State Government on the Mauyi Ganga fishing and cultural festival.
This year’s event, which held at River Alkamaram, Mauyi Ganga, featured colourful cultural display and was widely attended by dignitaries including the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, notable traditional rulers led by Emir of Bade, Mai Suleiman Abubakar and citizens from within and outside the state, a statement by Lawan’s media aide, Ezrel Tabiowo disclosed.
Speaking on the prospects and benefits of the fishing and cultural festival, the Senate President said that the event which is capable of developing Nigeria’s tourism potential, would provide employment and create wealth for citizens of Yobe State.
Lawan said: “We (President Muhammadu Buhari Administration and the All Progressive Congress) are trying to ensure that we diversify the economy through the promotion of agriculture, solid minerals development and tourism.
“In Yobe State, we are also trying to explore opportunities. The Mauyi Ganga annual fishing and cultural festivals is a very old event.
“Unfortunately, in 1993 or there about, the festivities stopped due to some reason, and now that we are pushing for diversification, the government of Yobe and indeed the people of Bade emirate decided that we should revive this and vitalize the event for the benefit of our people in addition to sustaining our culture.
“The fishing festival is an additional way of getting revenue for our people, creating employment opportunities and wealth, and of course for our state, it is going to be beneficial for revenue generation in the form of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).”
The Senate President expressed the willingness of the state to partner with relevant agencies of government and corporate organizations to build on the tourism potential of the Mauyi Ganga cultural and fishing festival.
“We want to ensure that we partner and don’t limit the annual event to our state only. Next year we hope to explore the possibility of partnering with federal government agencies, corporate bodies and individual who have the desire and drive to support this kind of thing.
“We are not going to be begging for support, we are going to be asking for partnership and cooperation that everybody at the end of the day should be a winner”, he added.
