By MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, urged the Nigerian Tourism Development Company, NTDC,  to adhere strictly to the Supreme Court judgment on tourism, licensing and grading of hotels and other hospitality businesses in federating states.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court two months ago ruled that the states government should be left to manage tourism in the country while the Federal Government was charged with managing tourist traffic.

Fashola who spoke when he played host to a team of executives of Heritage Bank led by its Managing Director, Mr Ifie Sekibo said “The Supreme Court judgment has made it very clear that only the states has a role to play in tourism and I would urge the NTDC not to dabble into roles that will be contemptuous.”

He insisted the court ruled that the role of NTDC was only limited to traffic in tourism.

Fashola however urged the Heritage Bank and other financial institutions to respond to the vast opportunities and needs in the housing sector by investing  in the area to boost access to housing.

Speaking earlier, Sekibo said the bank was collaborating with theNTDC on the development of tourism in the country .

The managing director explained that the collaboration focused on the preservation of historical and tourism sites in the country, adding it also covered the promotion of Nigerian arts and culture.