* After over 40 years in limbo

The Abia State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a hospitality firm, Radisson Blu, to reconstruct a five-star hotel project, Enyimba Hotel Aba, which has been abandoned over 40 years ago.

According Governor Alex Otti’s Special Adviser on Media, Ferdinand Ekeoma, the two parties signed the MoU on Friday, January 7, at the Radisson Blu’s headquarters in Lagos.

Ekeoma said the agreement includes expanding the Enyimba Hotel complex to include a 2,500-seater hall that would serve as an international conference centre, multiple smaller halls, and a large exhibition space.

The Attorney General of Abia, Ikechukwu Uwanna, and the Director General of the Greater Aba Development Authority, Uche Ukeje, signed the agreement on behalf of the Abia State Government.

“The signing marks another turning point in the life of the Alex Otti-led government in its quest to revamp moribund industries and institutions in the state, a move that has continued to attract applause and commendations from Abians.

“With its commendable achievements in road infrastructure, security and waste management, the state has seen a serious upsurge in the population of people trooping to Aba and Umuahia, a development that requires that the state invest massively in the hospitality industry,” Mr Ekeoma said in the statement.

“The Enyimba Hotel, started by the former Governor of old Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe, was abandoned midway over four decades ago following the overthrow of the democratic government of that time. Sadly, subsequent military and democratic governments did not make any attempt to advance the iconic project,” he added.

Ekeoma disclosed that before the agreement was signed, Otti had to resolve the legal and contractual issues that threatened his administration’s plan for the hotel project.

He said that Otti opted for Radisson Blu in consideration of the company’s reputation in the hospitality business and that the governor has directed that the “New Enyimba Hotel must have all the features that would make it a beauty to behold and destination for business people and tourists.”

“The signing of the MoU further underscores Governor Otti’s determination to fulfill his promise of a complete turnaround of the state from the near slum status it wore over the years to a model state with the requisite infrastructure, beauty, ambience and the economic wherewithal to make the inhabitants comfortable and happy,” Ekeoma added.