Hotels In Nasarawa Demand 3 Years Tax Exemption

The Nigeria Hotel Association (NHA), Nasarawa State Chapter, has called on the state government to grant them three years tax exemption to enable them to recover from the loss of income due to the partial lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

Chairman of the association, Abeku Danjuma made the appeal in Lafia, during a courtesy visit to the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Dogo Shammah.

Mr Danjuma lamented low patronage as a result of Coronavirus pandemic. He stated that hotels in Nasarawa are badly hit and have lost a lot of money.

“Our businesses have been shutdown since the outbreak without customers which means complete blockage in our income,” he said.

He further appealed to government to grant the association N1.5 billion stimulus to cushion the effects of coronavirus pandemic on their business or they will be forced to retrench thousands of workers in the state.

“The stimulus would serve as a backup to sustain the hospitality and tourism industry from total collapse and prevent job loses,” he explained.

The state Commissioner for Information Culture and Tourism, Mr Dogo Shammah assured the chairman that Governor Abdullahi Sule led administration will work with the association toward the development of the tourism industry.

Mr Shammah revealed that the government is working on a bill to reposition hotels in the state for better performance.