By Kelvin Obambon
The Cross River State Government has flagged off a three-day intensive food safety and hygiene capacity-building workshop for workers across the state’s hospitality sector, reaffirming its strategy to position the state as Africa’s premier tourism hub.
The training, taking place at the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar from Monday 5 to Wednesday, October 7, 2026, aims to cultivate best practices, elevate service standards, and enforce strict food safety protocols among food handlers and service providers across the state.
Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the state governor, the Managing Director of the State Tourism Bureau, Mr. John Atsu, stated that service quality and hygiene remain the ultimate measure of Destination Cross River’s reputation.
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“The powerful ambassador of any tourism destination is not its scenery, its monuments, or even its marketing. It is the plate of food placed in front of the visitor and the hands that prepare it,” Atsu declared. “Cross River State has no shortage of beauty. Our mountains, our rainforests, our festivals draw the world’s attention. But the visitor remembers where they ate safely. And unfortunately, they remember far more vividly where they did not.”
Stressing the vital role of frontline workers in upholding public health and the state prestige, Atsu noted that tourism and hospitality form the central pillars of the Cross River’s economy.
“Food safety does not make headlines when it is done right. It only makes headlines when it fails. Our task this week is to make sure Cross River State never makes that kind of headline,” Atsu added. “Every hygiene protocol you master this week, becomes a brick in the reputation we are building for the People’s Paradise.”
Speaking on the broader scope of the initiative, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Hospitality, Mr. Albert Kusi, explained that the workshop marks the beginning of a sustained human capital development drive tailored to align local service providers with international standards.
Kusi noted that the capacity-building workshop directly complements Governor Otu’s recent policy initiative to inject over N18 billion into the state’s hospitality and tourism sectors.
“Such a significant investment comes with numerous opportunities and possibilities, and demands highly equipped, skilled, and competent service providers,” Kusi said. “His Excellency’s focus is not limited to infrastructural development, but extends equally to the development of a well-trained and highly skilled human resource base. Investment without requisite skilled human resources to support and manage them can only result in limited or stunted growth.”
The three-day exercise is expected to equip hundreds of participants with practical skills in food handling, temperature management, and sanitation hygiene, ensuring that Cross River continues to set the standard for safety and hospitality excellence in Nigeria.
