The Federal Government has restated its commitment to building a globally competitive hospitality, travel and tourism sector, as the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) inducted professionals and conferred fellowship honours on distinguished stakeholders in Abuja on Thursday.
Abuja ceremony
The event, held at Merit House, Maitama, also featured the inauguration of the Governing Boards of the Hospitality and Tourism Sector Skills Council of Nigeria (HTSSCN), in what organisers described as a major step toward formalising and professionalising the industry.
It brought together government officials, regulators, tourism operators, development partners, cultural institutions and industry leaders.
Minister’s position
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said no sector can achieve sustainable growth without structure, standards, institutional coordination and skilled professionals.
She said Nigeria’s cultural diversity, heritage assets and tourism destinations could only be fully harnessed through professionalism, accountability, standardisation and competence.
Musawa added that the NIHOTOUR Establishment Act had strengthened the institute’s mandate beyond training to include regulation, certification and standards-setting for practitioners in the sector.
NIHOTOUR’s reform drive
NIHOTOUR Director General, Dr. Abisoye Fagade, described the ceremony as a historic turning point for the industry, saying the induction, fellowship conferment and council inauguration marked a new era of competence and institutional governance.
He said regulation and standardisation were now economic necessities if Nigeria intends to compete globally in hospitality and tourism.
Fagade said NIHOTOUR is being repositioned as a facilitator and strategic partner focused on workforce development, competency-based certification and industry collaboration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Sector backing
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, said effective regulation remains the only sustainable path for scaling the hospitality and tourism industry in Nigeria.
He said strong standards, licensing and accountability help build investor confidence and improve service quality.
Other stakeholders, including the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, Olayiwola Awakan, and the Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Biodun Ajiboye, praised NIHOTOUR’s reforms and called for stronger professional standards across the value chain.
Honours and significance
The ceremony also saw the conferment of fellowship honours on several prominent Nigerians, including Musawa, Fagade, Awakan, Ajiboye, NCAA Director General Chris Ona Najomo, former tourism officials and other industry leaders.
According to NIHOTOUR, the inductions and honours are part of a broader effort to institutionalise professionalism, ethical practice and globally accepted standards in Nigeria’s hospitality and tourism space.
Stakeholders at the event said the reforms could help unlock the sector’s potential for job creation, cultural diplomacy and economic diversification.
2026-05-14