The Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, Olusegun Olaotan, has urged the local and international investors to develop the newly discovered Tongeji Island in the state.
Olaotan made the call during the 14th International Arts and Crafts Expo, on Thursday, in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the expo is ‘Networking Nigerian craft to the world.’
According to him, the Island, which is located at Ipokia Local Government Area of the state, is an agrarian community surrounded by water and isolated from the rest of the world.
Olaotan said that the state government was ready to work with investors who were ready to transform the island to a beautiful haven.
“Tongeji Island has a landmass of about 200 hectares of land, a population of over 1,000 people, situated less than five minutes drive from Port Novo in Benin Republic, and 150 minutes by speedboat from Western Naval Command Headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.
“The island is surrounded by aquatic splendour, white sand, lush green environment, humid weather and enormous palm coconut trees.
”It is an island with large deposit of crude oil, if properly developed, it will fetch the state, individuals and the nation huge revenue.
“We call on investors to visit this island and consider it a place for investment,” he said.
Olaotan also urged local and international tourists to visit the state to explore its endowment and fascinating sites among which are the Olumo Rock, Lisabi forest, Kenta Adire Market, Hilltop Golf Resort, Hi-Impact Planet, Birikisu Sungbo Shrine, Centenary Hall, Ebute Oni and Itoku Market.
“Almost all our tourists sites have been renovated to create fantastic memories for tourists.
”We also have quite a number of festivals to witness like the Ojude Oba, Oro and Lisabi festivals. Also, our cuisines could be explored like ikokore, efo riro, kokoro, adun and more,” he said.
He added that the state’s famous Adire fabric had been positioned for easy accessibility with an online platform for the sales and marketing of the fabric.
(NAN).
