Ace Nollywood star and chairman, board of directors of the National Institute for Hospitality & Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Mr Kanayo O. Kanayo, has described Nigeria as having the best variety of food on the African continent.

He said: “Africa is blessed but Nigeria is more blessed in the area of variety of food.”

Kanayo spoke on Tuesday on the occasion of the pre-event press conference held by NIHOTOUR for the institute’s planned national food and cultural fair, billed to hold from June 24 to 26, 2014 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The food fair, he said, meant to bring to the fore transformation recorded in the food sector of the hospitality industry and a continuation of the celebration of the nation’s centenary anniversary, adding that “it will certainly set an agenda in the food sector of the hospitality industry.”

The Director-General of the Institute, Dr Munzali Dantata, said the food fair with the theme: ‘One Hundred Years of Food Culture and Hospitality in Nigeria’ will consist of exhibition, conference and cooking competition, aiming at bringing together stakeholders of the Nigerian food industry to tell their story “from farm to table.”

Noting that the food landscape of Nigeria has gone through dramatic transformation over the last one hundred years, he said “the eating habit of Nigerians has charged.”

According to him, the fair is to celebrate the rich culinary and cultural heritage of Nigeria that is focused on best international standards and practices “taking into consideration our cultural values, customs and tradition so as to ensure that the target audience and participants are satisfactorily informed, entertained and educated.”

Dr Munzali said the fair was in support of the Agricultural Agenda, an integral part of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, aimed at transforming the Nigerian economy and meet the needs of the Nigerian people.