The Oyo State Government, through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is ready to partner with the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) Western zone to flush out the quacks in the travel business in oyo state.
This was disclosed by the Honourable Commissioner for tourism and culture in oyo State HON. Wasiu Olatunbosun in his office when the zonal executive council of Nanta paid him a visit.
The zonal vice president of the association otunba Babatunde Adesokan who led his team which includes the second National Deputy President of the association Dr.Tokunbo Dagunduro in his remark expressed the plight of his association in curbing the menace of Quackry in the state without the backing and support of government of the state.
He mentioned that the public in state has suffered enough from the hand of these touts parading themselves as travel agents and swindling the public of their hard earned money in the name of assisting them to secure a travel arrangements.
He further stated that Nanta, as an association, has the backing of NCAA (an agency established on the federal government act) who is regulating the association, and this was why Nanta has the power to seal any agency that failed to register under the association to operate. “with this act, we can operate and seal off offices, but we still need the backing of the state government in carrying out this task as a responsible body.”
He sought the support of the state through the ministry of tourism and culture to raise a task force on this and assured the state that this will give the state the needed data of operators in state, curb the incessant cases of fraud in the sector and also serve as a revenue generation sector for the government through the issuance of tourism operation certificate to her members.
Dr. Tokunbo Dagunduro alluded to the vice president call and also included the need to act fast on this to stop government loosing more revenues in this direction.
Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, while responding to the pleas by the Nanta team, assures the readiness of the State ministry to support the association in carrying out this task. He immediately call for a creation of a Task Force to this effect and request that Nanta should come up with the modalities to go by while his ministry will look into it and work along with the association. He re affirmed that oyo state can not be a ground for fraudsters in the name of travel agents.
Other zonal council in the team are Mr.Temitope Ogunosebikan- the zonal Secretary, Mr. Oye Obasa – zonal PRO, Mr .Olumide Olatundun – zonal welfare officer, Dr. Olufemi Adegbola and the Zonal Ex officio Comrade Afolabi Hezikiah.
