Ade-John hands over Tourism Ministry to Musawa

Lola Ade-John, Immediate past Minister of Tourism, has thanked President Bola Tinubu for what she described as ‘the opportunity to serve Nigeria as Minister of Tourism.’

Ade-John formally handed over the now disbanded Federal Ministry of Tourism to Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, at a brief ceremony in Abuja recently.

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It would be recalled that at a meeting by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), a decision was reached to scrap the newly-created Ministry of Tourism and to merge it with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.

The discarded tourism ministry was created by President Bola Tinubu only last year on assumption of office.

The Presidency, in a statement Wednesday, announced a cabinet reshuffle in the President Tinubu administration, creation of two additional parastatals, appointment of seven new ministers, reassignment of 10, as well as, the discharge from the cabinet of five others, including Ade-John.

A statement by the Presidency thanked the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council ‘for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future endeavours.’

According to the statement, Tinubu charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.

Tinubu added further that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth and invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the government’s priorities.

According to Ade-John, in a letter addressed to Tinubu, Friday, her time at the office was ‘a profound honor to work toward a thriving tourism sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda, with a focus on sustainable, community-centered tourism.’

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“I am deeply thankful to the people of Nigeria and to the hardworking staff of the Ministry, whose dedication made our achievements possible. Thank you, Mr. President, for your trust. It has been a privilege to contribute to this administration’s goals, and I remain committed to Nigeria’s progress,” the former minister wrote.

Meanwhile, during a brief ceremony at the office of the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, Ade-John formally handed over her parastatal to Hannatu Musawa, as directed by the Federal Government.

Musawa is expected to oversee the newly-merged ministry, which also houses Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, with Tourism now a department under the new structure.

Musawa’s first major assignment could see her presiding over an earlier scheduled stakeholders’ validation on tourism draft on Saturday, November 2, 2024, in Lagos.