Numerous employees of the Premier Hotel in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, have been disengaged.
Additionally, it was also learned that the Premier Hotel, one of the structures constructed by the former Western Region government, had closed.
Western Hotels Limited, a division of the now-defunct Western Region government’s Odu’a Investment Company Limited, is the owner.
When journalists drove through Mokola hill, location of the hotel, Premier Hotel was empty.
Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Adewale Raji, when contacted, confirmed the development.
He added that the affected workers had been paid off. He maintained that the management of the hotel was conscious of the safety of the workers
He, however, debunked reports that the hotel has been sold.
Raji said, “In line with our plans to make our hotels world-class, we are renovating Premier Hotel and upgrading its facilities to make it a five-star hotel, in collaboration with a global brand chosen by the board with the help of KPMG and approval of the shareholders.
“We want to increase the number of rooms we have and increase the capacity of the halls. We are conscious of health and safety of the people, so we had to disengage the employees. We had to pay all of them off.”