Kwara State Government has directed the shutdown of the ailing Kwara Hotels pending rehabilitation and repositioning of the facility, a statement said on Sunday.

Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology (BIT) Ibrahim Akaje said the shutdown is a forerunner to many interventions that will be done to bring the hotel back to life.

Various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government connected to the facility -- including Harmony Holdings -- are to meet to discuss modalities for the shutdown ahead of the facility renewals, the statement added.

“The government has approved immediate shut down of the facility while rehabilitation and repositioning is done. A section of it had long become dilapidated and totally unusable. It therefore needs to be shut down for safety reasons. Further steps will be taken in phases to restore the glory of the hotel and return it to productivity,” Akaje said in the statement.

This comes hours after the state government announced placement of the Kwara Hotels and Cargo Terminal under the BIT Ministry — and a day after the government again had to intervene in the payment of Kwara hotel staffs because of its inability to pay salaries and meet other obligations.

The Council had also directed that Ministries of Finance and Planning and Economic Development should henceforth make budgetary provisions for the repositioning of the hotel.

Hon. Ibrahim Akaje
Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology (BIT)