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Abdulrasaq’s Govt Addresses Controversies Surrounding N17 Billion Kwara Hotel Renovation

Published

11 months ago

Dec 28, 2023.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Kwara state government under the leadership of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq has addressed ongoing controversies surrounding Kwara Hotel renovation project.

In a press release on Thursday by the Governor’s Chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, the Kwara state government justified it’s decision to renovate the iconic hotel by providing answers to several questions raised by critics.

The press release titled; Kwara Hotel: Another moment of Seward’s folly, partly reads: “Over the past few days, the iconic facility has grabbed news headlines as the state government announced a bold attempt to remodel and rebuild the 172-room Kwara hotel in the most comprehensive way ever since it was built in 1975 by the Brig-Gen David Bamigboye regime.”

Kwara Hotel, Ilorin

“The step, as with all major government decisions, has split the commentariats down the middle. Outside of those who agree entirely with the government on account of their own belief that the administration is patriotic enough to make the right decision, three other schools have emerged: those who want it done, but are skeptical about the cost vis-a-vis the return on investment; those who feel Kwara does not need such a facility and the money should instead be spread on monthly salaries and allowances of workers or some other things; and those who feel the government should rebuild it but should give the job to another firm, Crystal Group of Companies, which they said had committed to fix the hotel for N3bn under a concessioning agreement that allows it to run the facility for some 15 years. To the latter, the government erred as two contracts now exist on the same project.”

“The differing opinions, a core pillar of democracy, go to show how much people follow government’s activities and programmes. It is welcome. But the argument about the concessioning is mostly incorrect and partisan. There are no two contracts on the project. While the state executive council did indeed approve a concessioning to Crystal, the approval was glaringly conditional upon the House of Assembly backing it. No legislative approval was communicated for the concession; hence, no contract was sealed. This is confirmed by the June 2, 2022 document of Harmony Holdings sent to the Crystal in the wake of the conditional approval by the council.”

“Besides, the Crystal’s N3bn arrangement was never a wholesale remodelling and renovation of the Kwara Hotel. It was a piecemeal, wing-by-wing, or incremental renovation deal, which then allows Crystal to also manage it for 15 years. The comparison of a piecemeal renovation with complete remodelling, upgrades, and reconstruction that replaces everything in the hotel, except the carcass, is far-fetched. No basis for it.”

On the argument about due process and transparency, Ajakaye described it as “abandoned,” asserting that the state government adhered to due process before awarding the contract.

“Government twice advertised the job with all the requirements: first on August 18, 2023; and, again, on October 18, 2023, both in the printed versions of Nigerian Tribune and the Herald newspapers. Three firms applied and went through a competitive process, and one, Craneburg, was picked based on its capacity to fund and execute the huge project. Crystal did not apply. Neither did the Kwara PDP and its allies, who bellyache about which firm got the job.

The government has a job to do, and it is its responsibility to ensure that only a firm deemed competent and financially viable is picked. In this job, the contractor brings the money — to be repaid in a structured way over a period of time. This saves everyone the burden of slow job delivery or perennial demand for variation where government directly funds a project.”

“Why didn’t this one go through the House like the botched process involving Crystal? That is because no concession is involved. All the contractor does is to rebuild and furnish Kwara Hotel to required five-star specifications and hand it over to the state for further decisions on its management.” He said

Responding to critics who accused the state government of misplaced priority over the project, the Chief Press Secretary discarded such claims stressing that the Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq led Government is currently committed to various projects geared towards enhancing the quality of lives of citizens and residents in the state.

Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary To Kwara state Governor.

“One more thing: why can’t the government channel the resources elsewhere, some have quipped. Rebuilding the Kwara Hotel and doing other developmental projects aren’t mutually exclusive. It is not a zero-sum game. On the day the government announced the Kwara Hotel project, it announced several road projects across the state and the establishment of the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital. Development is not a destination; it is an unending process.”

Justifying the need for a 21st century five-star hotel in Kwara, Ajakaye noted that the state, with it’s increasingly busy airport and major tourism sites and potential requires a first-class hospitality facilities to harvest socioeconomic opportunities that comes with hosting important events.

“With an increasingly busy airport and major tourism sites and potentials, a state as strategically positioned as Kwara should not be without first-class hospitality facilities. Having none stunts its socioeconomic growth and limits its potentials to host not just important events but to also harvest the opportunities that come with them.”

“N17bn ($14.4m), some critics said, appears a huge amount! But is it truly huge compared to the financial requirement of building a five-star hotel in an economy where a dollar equals N1,200? In 2018, five years ago when dollar was worth 200 naira, Transcorp Hotels budgeted N40bn ($32.8m) to upgrade its facilities. The Lagos Continental Hotel was built for a total sum of N99.6bn, or $81.1m. Recently, the Lagos Oriental Hotel was valued at N300bn ($250m).”

“While the size and location of these facilities may vary, the point is that premium hospitality facilities like the soon-to-be-rebuilt Kwara Hotel never come cheap. Not here, not anywhere in the world. If you doubt this, check out how much went into building the Burj-al-Khalifa (N1.8trillion), Emirates Palace (N3.6tr), Wynn Palace (N5.04tr), or Abraj Al-Bait (N19.2tr).”

“Yes, these are admittedly very exclusive facilities in choice corners of the world, but they have a long value chain extending to the poorest in their societies. Kwara Hotel, even if not exactly like the ones above, isn’t much different if we truly want it to stand out.”

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