Nigeria: Ekiti Assembly Passes Tourism, Hospitality Licensing And Regulation Bill

Ekiti House of Assembly has passed the Ekiti Tourism and Hospitality Licensing and Regulation Bill, 2020, to regulate the activities of the businesses in the sector.

The unanimous resolution was taken at Wednesday’s plenary presided over by the Speaker, Funminiyi Afuye in Ado Ekiti.

The passage followed the submission and subsequent adoption of the report of the House Committee on Arts, Culture and Tourism by the Chairman, Adeyemi Ajibade.

According to Ajibade, the bill, if assented to by Gov. Kayode Fayemi, seeks to regulate the activities and registration of hospitality businesses in Ekiti.

The bill was seeking regulation of the relationship between government and the private sector in carrying out business transactions.

Contributing during debate on the bill, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, the Majority Leader, said the bill, when passed, would ensure a seamless relationship between government and private sector in developing strategies.

He urged members to give the bill accelerated passage.

Also, Ekiti Commissioner for Arts, Culture, and Tourism, Professor Bakare Ojo Razak, stated that the bill among other things seeks to achieve the following:

[1]Government must hold the State Festival of Arts and Culture [EKIFEST] annually except there is a huge natural disaster that makes it impossible to hold.

[2] The Government must invest in as appropriate and ensure the safety of all Tourism Facilities and products in the State.

[3] The State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism is now established by Law and can no longer be scrapped at will by any succeeding government like it has been done many times previously.

[4] The State Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Tourism is now fully in charge of registration, classification, licensing, and regulation of all hotels, hospitality, and tourism businesses in the state. Etc etc