By Dipo Olowookere
Hotels operating in Lagos without sign posts are in for a tough time, the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has declared.
Permanent Secretary and also the Acting Commissioner for the Ministry, Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday that any hotel operating without displaying a sign-post would be sanctioned.
She declared that, “It is an offence for a hotel to be operating without signage. The state government is committed to monitor and hunt any hotel operating without a sign-post. Any hotel found wanting will be brought to book and face the punishment.”
According to her, this move is to checkmate the activities of the hotels in order to rid the state of criminality.
“Some criminals are fond of using some of the unregistered hotels to carry out their evil deeds.
“Therefore, it is necessary to check such vices by clamping down on such illegal hotels.
“As we are talking, the ministry’s monitoring team is on surveillance to identify the violators,” Mrs Akinsola said.
She, however, noted that the ministry would neither tolerate nor accept any unregistered hotel to operate in the state, adding that the state government would soon upgrade all the tourist sites, monuments and heritage sites across the state to international standard.
“We want to use tourism to turn around the economy of the state and also make Lagos State a tourism-hub in West Africa,” she said, noting that the ministry would host the Lagos Street Party on Dec. 3 and 4.
“Security will be guaranteed, there will be free buses to transport people to Kuramo Beach Front, Victoria Island, its venue,” she said.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka