Akwa Ibom Terminates Management Contract Of Five-star Hotel

The Akwa Ibom State Government has terminated its contract with Icon Hotel Group for the management of the state-owned 163-room five-star hotel in Uyo, PremiumTimes reports.

The hotel, initially known as Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, had its name changed in 2020 to Ibom ICON Hotel & Golf Resort after the state government parted ways with the first set of managers – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Enobong Uwah, in a statement on Wednesday, announced the dissolution of the board of directors, Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort Ltd, saying that the Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno is desirous of repositioning the hotel to meet “world-class standard”.

He said the state government has discontinued its negotiations on a new management services agreement with Icon Hotel Group and has also terminated a temporary management structure that was in place.

He said the commissioner of culture and tourism in the state will oversee the affairs of the hotel until further notice.

The state government, in 2020, contracted Icon Hotels and Golf Resort to manage the hotel after Starwood Hotels & Resorts, its operator at the time, terminated its contract with the state government.

The state government rejected the contract termination by Starwood and accused the company of wanting to withdraw services because its (state government) contracted Price Waterhouse Coopers to audit the accounts of the hotel.

But Starwood, in its response, accused the state government of failing to pay its N394 million debt to the hotel, PremiumTimes had reported.

Governor Victor Attah’s administration built the hotel in 2007 to provide five-star hospitality for entrepreneurs and other visitors to the oil-rich state.

The golf resort, a key component of the hotel, has over the years hosted many local and national golf tournaments.

However, the quality of services in the hotel continued to drop over the years, especially after the exit of Starwood.

Guests at the hotel sometimes complained of leaking roofs, non-functional intercom services, and poor water supply to the rooms.

Akwa Ibom has a four-star hotel, Four Points by Sheraton, at Ikot Ekpene, which appears to enjoy more patronage than the hotel in Uyo.