Abuja Tourism Stakeholders Forum: FTAN President Warns Against Flawed Tourism Laws

At the recent National Hospitality and Tourism Stakeholders Forum in Abuja, convened by the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), one message rose above the rest—clear, firm, and impossible to ignore.

The President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Badaki, delivered a position that cut straight to the heart of the ongoing reform debate. His stance was decisive: the current NTDA and National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Bills, as they stand, should be withdrawn, properly reviewed, and reintroduced. For him, reform must not be rushed at the expense of coherence, industry alignment, and long-term sustainability.

More than a critique, his intervention was a call for responsibility. He emphasized that policies must be shaped with industry players—not imposed on them. Anything short of that risks creating frameworks that look good on paper but fail in practice.

While discussions around moving tourism from the Residual List to the Concurrent List continue to gain traction, Dr. Badaki’s position reframes the conversation. The real issue, he suggests, may not lie solely in constitutional placement, but in addressing deeper structural and operational challenges that have long constrained the sector.

His warning was unequivocal: any legislation that undermines the growth and sustainability of the tourism industry will be resisted.

This is the defining takeaway. Nigeria’s tourism sector does not just need new laws—it needs the right laws, built on collaboration, informed by practitioners, and designed to unlock real economic value. Reform must go beyond restructuring authority; it must genuinely empower the ecosystem it intends to serve.