FG is pleased over passage of Tourism bill-Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Cultural, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said that the government is pleased with the passage of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) bill.

The bill has been passed by the Senate and House of Representatives and forwarded to the President for assent.

The Minister added that legistaltive backing for the Institute which is the apex trainer for the hospitality and tourism sector is long overdue.

Mohammad stated this in Abuja at the NIHOTOUR stakeholders forum, themed:Imperative of legislation for institutional capacity building”.

The Minister who was represented by the Director domestic tourism at the ministry, Mrs Nzobiwu Okpakiripe commended the resilience of the institute.

He stated, “It is of critical importance to remind us all that the Institute is the apex tr for the Hospitality and Tourism Sector, under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, and there is no doubt that a legislative backing for NIHOTOUR is long overdue, bearing in mind the Institute was established in 1987.

“I am delighted with the progress of the bill, which has been successfully passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively and subsequently forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari, for his assent.”

Acting Director General of NIHOTOUR, Alhaji Momoh Kabir stated that the institute today has a presence in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

He said, “It is with this in view that we at the Institute commend and appreciate the astuteness of the present 8th National Assembly and the very helpful intervention of the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture Alh. Lai Muhammed, in ensuring that the NIHOTOUR’S bill was not only successfully passed but equally transmitted to Mr. President for his assent.

“From its modest beginning as a mono campus in Bagauda, Kano state; NIHOTOUR today has its presence in the six geopolitical zones of the country.”