Kwara state PDP on Thursday demanded explanations from the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration and sought to know the state of things with regard to the hospitality outfit owned by the state government , the Kwara Hotel.
The party alleged that room accessories and other items that were procured by the state government when it was a PDP -controlled state were made available to the people and ‘sold off with impunity by supposed agents of government at ridiculous prices leaving the edifice emptied and desolated’.
PDP in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by the State Publicity Secretary, Hon Olusegun Olusola Adewara has also accused the Abdulrahman government of planning to secretly sell the Hotel after its unfortunate closure since October 2022.
The party also accused the Abdulrahman administration of destroying Kwara legacies while alleging misuse of public funds .
‘When the hotel was shut down due to poor management last year, the government lied to Kwarans that it planned to renovate the facility and bring it to a better state of operation while promising that the hotel staff would be deployed to other government ministries. Sadly, those poor staff of the hotel were unjustifiably laid off, leaving them jobless and their families devastated till date.
Our party is surprised that the government can be so insensitive and unapologetic in handling matters that have to do with the Kwara Hotel after several failed promises to make it better than they met it’ the statement said.
While noting that further explanations are still demanded on the issue of the N17 billion which it claimed was the remaining money from the N35 billion loan that the current administration in the state obtained which has been allegedly kept in the bank ,Kwara state PDP submitted that ‘we will not allow this huge fund which was borrowed with Kwara monthly allocation as collateral to be used as a retirement package for those in government’.
The party has also urged the state House of Assembly to raise an issue and ensure that the executive arm of government headed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq provides answers to questions in respect of the state of things at the hotel.
‘We condemn in strong terms, the ongoing looting of the Kwara Hotel properties by agents of the APC-led government. We make bold to say that the transactions going on in Kwara Hotel are illegal and do not align with any known procurement law. Why will Kwara Hotel be sold without properly briefing the people by those elected to manage it? What is the reason for its purported sales and why are they selling expensive items procured by the past administrations for the hotel?
We call on the Danladi-led House of Assembly to use this occasion to prove that the parliament is not a rubber stamp or an appendage to the executive. The party urges the Assembly to immediately rise to the occasion by summoning Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq to provide detailed explanations to Kwarans on the situation of things at the hotel and why its properties are being looted without due process’ the statement said.
The state government in a statement issued in Ilorin by Hon. Damilola Yusuf, who is the Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology (BIT), however noted that the hospitality outfit will not be sold under any circumstances while also explaining the steps that had been taken in respect of the room accessories and other items.
‘Kwara Hotel is a legacy public property that will not be sold for whatever reasons’ the statement said while adding that the facility will undergo a massive reconstruction and efficient management.
The bidding process, the statement noted, began over two months ago through an advertisement published in different newspapers, including but not limited to the Herald of September 8, 2023 and Tribune of October 18, 2023.
‘The open bidding process has been completed and the cabinet is to consider and approve a successful company to finance, remodel, and reconstruct the hotel on behalf of the state within terms that will never include sale of the property and will ensure maximum values for the state. However, the hotel will retain its iconic outward stature, as handed to us by the illustrious founding fathers of Kwara state.
The public may recall that Kwara Hotel was last given a major facelift over two decades ago. Virtually everything in it has become spent and unusable. They needed to be taken out completely to allow for the rebuilding works. It is for that reason that the government began a few weeks ago the legal process to auction off these spent items and utilities. The process involved all relevant government agencies and registered auctioneers who are allowed under the law to partake in such. Four registered auctioneers were approved in all. The due process of valuation had also been done. The auctioneers have since begun the auctioning of these spent items and utilities to the general public after making relevant payments for same to the government coffers.
To that extent, the ongoing gorging of the spent items is to clear out the facility for the massive construction works that will begin soon. An exercise of that magnitude is best held in an open environment to avoid stampede. Even so, the police have been deployed to maintain law and order, and prevent opportunist behaviours as much as possible.
The public is assured of the government’s commitment to making Kwara Hotel the pride of the people once again’ the statement said- Team@orientactualmags.com
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