One of the oldest hotels in West Africa, Premier Hotel in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital has been shut down with members of staff laid off. According to Daily Post, the 87-room edifice is owned by Western Hotels Limited, a subsidiary of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, established by the defunct Western Region government.
The hotel was deserted when a correspondent of Daily Post passed through Mokola hill. Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Adewale Raji, when contacted, confirmed the development. He added that the affected workers had been paid off. He maintained that the management of the hotel was conscious of the safety of the workers.
He, however, debunked reports that the hotel has been sold. Raji said, “In line with our plans to make our hotels world-class, we are renovating Premier Hotel and upgrading its facilities to make it a five-star hotel, in collaboration with a global brand chosen by the board with the help of KPMG and approval of the shareholders.
“We want to increase the number of rooms we have and increase the capacity of the halls. We are conscious of health and safety of the people, so we had to disengage the employees. We had to pay all of them off.”
