FG Collaboration From Private Firms
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called on the private sector and individuals to help golf in the country in order to raise the money and attract professionals from every part of the world to play in Nigerian competitions.
Mohammed, who made the appeal at the tee-off of the 2018 West African Golf Tour at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, on Thursday, observed that the current prize money of $50,000 for both Lagos and Abuja tours wil not bring in top class.
He said countries benefit greatly from sports hence the need for the government and the private sector to tap into the opportunities that golf presents and to support the West Africa Golf Tour in developing the game.
The minister stressed that there was a need to leverage golf and other sports to promote tourism and showcase Nigeria to the rest of the world.
He said, “The West Africa Golf Tour speaks for the commitment that I hold, as the Minister of Information and Culture, for the promotion of Nigeria’s rich tourism potential. It showcases Nigeria to the world – our golf courses, natural surroundings and cities as well as our culture, thereby putting Nigeria, West Africa and Africa in the limelight and helping to advance the efforts to improve our image and economy.”
Mohammed urged the golfers to go beyond the competition and consider the tournament as another platform to strengthen the bond of unity that exists in the West African sub-region and the continent in general.
Golfers from Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, Germany, Zambia and Zimbabwe are part of the tournament.
