HOMAL wins legal battle against NIHOTOUR, gets N10m damages

The Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) from enforcing disputed provisions of its enabling law against members of the Hotel Owners and Managers Association of Lagos (HOMAL).

The court also awarded N10 million in damages against the institute and ordered it to refund money collected from the association’s members during its enforcement activities, according to HOMAL.

The judgment, delivered on October 15, 2026, followed a legal challenge by the association to provisions of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (Establishment) Act, 2022, relating to the registration and certification of hospitality workers, minimum manpower standards and the regulation of hotel businesses operating within Lagos State.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, HOMAL President, S. O. Alabi, said the judgment had clarified the limits of NIHOTOUR’s regulatory powers over businesses operating in the state.

According to him, the court declared the disputed provisions relating to manpower standardisation, registration and certification, as well as minimum manpower requirements for businesses operating wholly within Lagos State, illegal, ultra vires and unconstitutional.

Alabi said the court held that the Lagos State Hotels Licensing Authority Law, 2010, governs tourism-related regulation within the state and that NIHOTOUR lacked the constitutional authority to regulate or revoke operating licences issued to affected businesses by the state government.

He added that the court declared the institute’s regulations and enforcement actions against HOMAL members under the disputed provisions unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.

According to the association, the court also granted a perpetual injunction restraining NIHOTOUR and its agents from forcibly enforcing the disputed provisions, arresting or detaining affected operators, or collecting money and fees from them pursuant to the provisions.

“With this judgment, our members are protected from the physical and revenue onslaught of NIHOTOUR,” Alabi said.

He acknowledged that the defendants had the right to appeal but maintained that the judgment would regulate the relationship between HOMAL members and the institute unless overturned by a higher court.

The dispute arose from NIHOTOUR’s efforts to enforce requirements for the registration and certification of hospitality personnel and the application of manpower standards to hotels and other businesses in the sector.

Alabi said HOMAL had opposed the contentious provisions since a public hearing at the House of Representatives in 2017, arguing that the proposed regulatory powers encroached on the responsibilities of state governments and other federal agencies.

Despite objections from stakeholders, he said, the provisions were retained when the legislation was enacted in 2022.

He stressed that the association supported the establishment of NIHOTOUR as a federal training institution but opposed what it described as the institute’s attempt to regulate hotel businesses and impose certification requirements on their employees.

“We are not against government setting up NIHOTOUR. It ought to have been done for years,” he said.

Alabi questioned the institute’s demands for the registration and vetting of hotel executives and other employees, arguing that such requirements went beyond its training mandate.

According to HOMAL, the dispute intensified following the appointment of NIHOTOUR’s director-general in late 2024, when the institute began enforcing provisions that had previously not been implemented.

The association said it formally protested the enforcement activities in a letter dated March 10, 2026, but received no response. It subsequently challenged the actions in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/906/2025.

Alabi alleged that NIHOTOUR continued its enforcement activities while the case was pending, leading to the closure of some member hotels.

He claimed that the affected hotels were reopened only after payments of N2.5 million to a company identified as NIHOTOUR Training, Research and Consultancy.

The association also accused the institute of seeking the withdrawal of its registration certificate by the Corporate Affairs Commission and petitioning the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations that HOMAL was diverting revenue meant for the Federal Government.

Beyond the Lagos dispute, Alabi said the association was defending six members who had been served with court papers in a separate suit instituted by NIHOTOUR against 16 hotels in Abuja.

He maintained that HOMAL’s legal action was aimed at challenging the basis of the institute’s regulatory activities and did not constitute opposition to efforts to improve standards in the hospitality industry.

“All our members are private individuals and corporations who had invested their hard-earned resources in the development of the industry,” the association said.

Alabi added that HOMAL was prepared to defend the judgment should NIHOTOUR appeal.

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