The Abia State Government has announced plans to convert the newly built Government House in Umuahia, commissioned under former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, into a five-star hotel, citing structural deficiencies and impracticality for administrative use.
Commissioner for Information, Mr Okey Kanu, disclosed this during a press tour of the expansive facility located at Ogurube Layout, a stone’s throw from the state secretariat.
Kanu described the complex as “uninhabitable” and a “security risk,” insisting that the edifice, hurriedly inaugurated on May 28, 2023—a day before the end of Ikpeazu’s tenure—was incomplete and lacked basic residential and official amenities.
“The structure is hollow. Most rooms are just bare halls without wardrobes or fittings, and the elevator hasn’t been installed.
Only the first floor appears usable,” Kanu told reporters, adding that the design defies logic for use as a Government House.
The new structure was inherited by the Ikpeazu administration from his predecessor, Senator Theodore Orji, who left it at the roofing stage.
Though the exact total cost of the project remains unclear, records show that at least N175 million was spent on fencing alone under the previous government, fueling concerns over the billions potentially sunk into the project.
Governor Alex Otti, who has refused to operate from either the newly built or the old Government House, continues to run the affairs of the state from his private residence in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the development costs the state approximately N2 million monthly in logistics for official convoys, a figure likely to have increased following the hike in petrol prices to N950 per litre.
Kanu justified the proposed conversion as a “sensible economic decision” to prevent further wastage of public funds.
“The governor, as a prudent manager of resources, believes it is better to repurpose the building into a revenue-generating asset for the state rather than allow it to rot,” he said.
He further revealed that a new Government House will be constructed on the site of the old Government House, which he stressed was never a rented property, as claimed by past officials.
“They were paying themselves rent from state coffers under the guise of renting Government House,” Kanu alleged.
Source :Premium TIMES
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