Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Hon Dayo Bush-Alebiosu has reaffirmed the commitment of the State Government to ensure a Lagos that is made attractive to tourists all year round.
In similar vein, the Managing Director, Lagos Ferry Services, LAGFERRY, Mr Abdoulbaq Ladi Balogun disclosed that the agency had successfully carried passengers for 31,000 hours this year alone on its scheduling services.
The duo spoke separately during interviews with journalists at a Tourism, Hospitality and Creative Stakeholders’ Engagement Summit organized by the State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, held at Victoria Island, Lagos, where tourism experts, practitioners, investors, policymakers and creative investment in the sector were in attendance.
The theme for the Summit was, “Unlocking the Potentials and Opportunities of Lagos Tourism: Collaboration and Partnership for a Greater Lagos.”
The Commissioner noted, “To be honest with you, December is just a season. Lagos State has the potential for an all year round tourist destination. When you look at it, like I had said, what we’re trying to do is to make sure that the Lagos experience is one that stands out.
“From the area of water, when you look at most of the climate supports that have been carried out at the moment, we would like it to be much more competitive internationally. It’s like coming into new places, making sure we do everything as it is supposed to be. For example, when you go to places like Spain and some other coastal countries, one of the things you see is that the planning is just out there.
“It’s the type of building, the arrangements of the buildings and all that. So we’re saying, well, what we’re going to do is, there has to be a reason why people visit Lagos all year round.
“So say, for example, if we have 10 islands, if it’s something we should sell out there, each must be very special, and some we should sell as the 10 islands of Lagos, for example. These are some of the things people would want to do, would want to come and see. That way, it encourages more people to visit,” Bush-Alebiosu added.
He noted further, “This is one of the many areas we will be collaborating with the Minister of Tourism to achieve that set goal.”
On his part, LAGFERRY boss, Ladi Balogun stated, “Interestingly, we have a lot of plans, Lagos State government is driven governance, particularly the administration of Dr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, is driven the governance on the pillars of THEMES Plus agenda. So what we have today is tourism and hospitality, which is the fifth pillar and of course, I play in the Transportation and Traffic Management pillar, that is the fourth pillar.
“And Lagos State Ferries Services has a role when it comes to enabling commerce and promoting tourism. So that’s why we are a key player in the collaboration we are having today.
“So particularly what we’re looking at is Detty December, you know, coping with the pressures and putting things in place to ensure seamless exercise, you know, traffic and the free flow of traffic on the road, on the waterways and every other way connected people to their destinations.
“Beyond Detty December, for instance, we have done more than 31,000 hours this year alone, that is the operation of Lagferry on our scheduling services, and of course, charter services.”
The MD added,.”We all know for a fact one third of Lagos State’s landmass is covered with water. From the whole 20 local governments of Lagos State, 15 of the local governments can actually be accessed by waterway. So talking about Lagos East, Lagos Central and Lagos West, you can actually get to anywhere by water. That’s where we play our role; that’s where we play the function of Lagos State Ferries Services.
“But we are exposed to letting the public know that of the 20 ferries that we have, they come in various sizes, 60-capacity, 50-capacity, 40-capacity, 30-capacity, and 20-capacity. So we are ready to make our services available to you at all points.
“In the next couple of weeks now, we will be seeing what we call Water Taxi Initiative by Lagferry. I want to thank Mr. Governor for giving us all the enablement to do that. It’s a pilot scheme, because we have been flying the routes of Egbe to Lekki, Egbe down to Victoria Island, and then Falomo.
“So in order to alleviate the suffering of the people and let people have the experience of the alternative, credible and safe alternative, that is waterway, so Lagos State Water Service is actually prepared to pilot the water taxi scheme in the next couple of weeks.”
On safety, he noted, “If we are not able to demonstrate our capability of managing a safe waterway, all these investors will not be coming in. So it is a testament to the fact that we have a very safe waterway, very secure waterway and that’s why investment is coming from the private sector and from the international organizations, There is no issue, as far as we’re concerned, we are number one operator of ferry services in Lagos State.”
