Minister urges Fagade to stay action on NIHOTOUR Act enforcement

The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy,  Hannatu Musa Musawa, has called for stay of action on the enforcement of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Act.

The Minister gave the order while responding to request for her intervention from the new executive of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), led by its President, Dr. Aliyu Badaki, during a courtesy visit to her office.

Musawa stated that the order does not mean that there won’t be reforms, but to give time for adjustments on areas of overlap and conflicts.

It could be recalled that the earlier kickoff of the NIHOTOUR Act by the Director-General of NIHOTOUR, Dr Abisoye Fagade, met a brick wall when the enforcement team and one of the hotels visited (Federal Palace Hotel) clashed, which sparked reactions from stakeholders across the country.

However, the minister quickly ordered the immediate suspension of the exercise before leading to a situation that will cause the industry a mental set back.

Musawa promised to speak with the relevant agencies to ensure harassment in the enforcement process is addressed, while the grey areas are sorted out.

According to the minister, returning to the National Assembly would be a sustainable solution in resolving the area of conflict in the Act.

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She disclosed that very exciting initiatives will soon be coming on board for the Tourism industry, adding that the FTAN will be pleased with these subsequent tourism initiatives.

The Minister congratulated the FTAN President and his team on their victory at the election.

She promised to carry the private sector body along by working directly with them in promoting tourism in the country.

Responding to the request by the FTAN President on the resuscitation of the Presidential Council on Tourism (PCT), the Minister explained that it is broad-based and has partners in different sectors.

She said the Ministry is working to lessen the PCT because it has a wide coverage and also in co-opting other needed parties and MDA’s to make it work faster.

Musawa noted that the Ministry is working to give the country’s President ownership of PCT to make it work easier.

She promised the participation of the Ministry in FTAN tourism conference coming up in November in Abuja.

The Minister decried the problem of poor funding which the Ministry is grappling with.

Speaking earlier, the President of FTAN, Dr  Badaki, called for a closer and robust working relationship between the Ministry and the Federation.

Dr. Badaki raised the issue of NIHOTOUR Act and the harassment of their members in the process of enforcement of the Act and the need for the resuscitation of the PCT.

He solicited funding support from the Ministry to make FTAN stronger and more vibrant.

The FTAN President also called for Nigeria’s participation in international exhibitions like the World Travel Market, WTM London, ITB Berlin, FITUR in Spain and the Arabian Travel Market, ATM in Dubai.

Speaking also, Chairman FTAN Board of Trustees, Alhaji Munzali Dantata, pledged his support and counsel to the Ministry if needed to move the tourism industry forward.

He also reiterated the call for the resuscitation of the PCT which worked well during Obasanjo’s regime.

Also, FTAN’s first Deputy President, Susan Akporaye, urged the ministry to carry the Federation along in participation at international expos to help in marketing the country’s tourism potential.

She informed the Minister that the private sector has been holding forth for the country after her long absence at international expos and handed over the flag of participation to the Ministry through the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA).

Akporaye appealed to the Minister to also carry the body along in its intervention programmes and SMEs.

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