Regatta festival to boost tourism, economy — Commissioner

Kebbi State Commissioner of Information and Culture, Alhaji Mamuda Muhammad Warra, has said the ongoing Yauri Regatta Cultural Festival, which features riverine manoeuvres, water sports and varieties of entertainment, will promote tourism and boost the state’s economy.

The commissioner stated this while giving the keynote address at the festival’s opening on Friday. He said the festival aims at boosting the state revenue as well as having a multiplier effect on the tourism sector particularly of Yauri Emirate and the state at large.

He said there is a global paradigm shift that calls for the modernisation of the festival to meet present realities and attract tourists, which has led to its adoption by the state government to serve as one of its cultural events.

Warra said that despite the changes brought about by modernity, Yauri remains a very important commercial centres, where people from Nigeria and beyond come to buy fish, onion, livestock, groundnut oil and hide and skin.

‘’The staging of the festival is to enhance economic activities and tourism for the development of the emirate, Kebbi State and Nigeria in general,’’ he said.

He urged all people of the state to support the desire of Yauri to enlarge the festival to meet international standard for tourism and economic gains.