From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
Kwara State Government has announced the shutdown of the popular Kwara Hotel, located along Ahmadu Bello Way, Ilorin.
Announcing the shutdown, 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.
“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.
“While the staffers have been redeployed to the ministry. 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 hotel staff members 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.