The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has asked owners of hotels, motels, guest houses, night clubs, eateries and others to register with the corporation within 30 days or be shut down.
Director General of the NTDC Otunba Olusegun Runsewe who issued the ultimatum said in a statement that it is a punishable offence to run a hotel or other hospitality enterprises without a signboard.
“They should also give details of the profile of their staff including their nationalities for necessary checks by the security agencies,” the statement said.
He said that the identity of every staff in the industry is required, adding that there are reasons to suspect that many illegal aliens are engaged in the hospitality business in Nigeria to the detriment of qualified and able-bodied citizens.
“Because of the importance of the tourism industry, there was the need for security agencies to have an inventory of all tourism enterprises in the country for effective monitoring in the interest of security and stability.
“We cannot afford to allow our hospitality enterprises to be used as dens for crime and criminalities,” he said.
Runsewe added that the corporation is empowered by law to register all hotels and other hospitality enterprises to provide a comprehensive database for effecting the necessary regulation in the industry.