NIHOTOUR, NTDA Acts: Minister Musawa Assures Private Sector Cooperation as FTAN Calls for Review and Realignment

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The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has assured that the Federal Government will work closely with the private sector to review and realign the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) Act 2022 and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Act 2022 to strengthen Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Speaking at a recent stakeholders’ meeting, Musawa disclosed that the Ministry will critically examine the Acts alongside position papers submitted by industry players. If necessary, she said, the Acts could be returned to the National Assembly for amendment.

The Minister also promised to convene a wider stakeholder forum to harmonize views and produce a final position that reflects both government and private sector interests.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), the umbrella body for 23 private sector associations, has called on the Minister to champion the review of all available Acts guiding the industry.

FTAN’s Concerns

FTAN President, Dr. Aliyu Badaki, commended the government for recognizing the need to strengthen the legal framework but highlighted several areas of concern:

Duplication of functions between NTDA and other agencies, including conflicts with state governments despite a 2013 Supreme Court judgment.
Commercial competition with private operators, as the NTDA Act empowers the Authority to act as a regulator and a commercial entity.
Multiple taxation, with the introduction of new levies such as the 1% hotel room tax, seen as burdensome.
Ambiguity in the Tourism Development Fund, which lacks clarity on funding modalities and benefits.
Overlapping certification roles in the NIHOTOUR Act, which appears to duplicate the responsibilities of universities, polytechnics, and professional bodies.
Punitive provisions, including compulsory re-certification and criminalization of defaults by NIHOTOUR, considered excessive and unconstitutional.

Dr. Badaki stressed that the Acts should be restructured to:

Focus NTDA on policy, destination marketing, product development, and investment facilitation.
Limit NIHOTOUR to training and manpower development, rather than regulatory and certification functions.
Ensure greater private sector representation on NTDA’s board.
Promote collaboration over coercion in policy implementation.

NTDA’s Position

The Director overseeing the Office of the Director General of NTDA, Mr. Ovie Richard Esewhaye, reiterated that NIHOTOUR’s role should remain strictly in human capital development and not regulatory oversight.

He recommended:

A Joint NTDA-NIHOTOUR MoU to clearly define mandates.
Formation of a technical committee to articulate regulatory functions and prevent duplication.
A review of NIHOTOUR’s fees and charges to ease the financial burden on practitioners.
Correction of NIHOTOUR’s public communications to avoid portraying itself as a tourism regulator.

Way Forward

Stakeholders agreed that the success of Nigeria’s tourism industry depends on clarity of roles, reduced bureaucracy, and true government–private sector collaboration.

Dr. Badaki reaffirmed FTAN’s commitment to working with government to build a globally competitive tourism and hospitality industry capable of driving job creation, GDP growth, and national branding.