The Akwa Ibom Government has sent packing the management of the five-star ICON Hotel Group in Uyo, the state capital .
Initially known as Le Meridien Ibom Hotels & Golf Resort, the hotel’s name was changed to Ibom ICON Hotel & Golf Resort in 2020.
The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Enobong Uwah, in a statement on Wednesday, March 21, 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.”
The statement 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.
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It directed the Commissioner of Culture and Tourism in the state to oversee the affairs of the hotel until further notice.
However, the relationship between the State government and Starwood ended in September 2017 with the exit of Starwood, the name of the hotel was changed to Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort that same year to reflect its full ownership by the Government.
Consequently, a new management team headed by Ronald Stilting was engaged run the hospitality outfit with its name changed to Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort.
Following the non-satisfactory performance of the hotel’s managers over the years, the state government considered there was a need to engage the services of reputable and professional hospitality managers with not only a proven track record of performance but respected in the international hospitality industry.
The imperative of having such a manager with these credentials derived from the fact of the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration’s building of Akwa Ibom State as the industrial, economic, and tourism hub in the South of Guinea and not just in Nigeria.
In October 2020, the state government contracted the Nigerian subsidiary of the Kenya-based Icon Hotel Group Africa (IHGA) – Icon Hotels and Golf Resort- to manage the five-star hotel after Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. had terminated its contract with the 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.
Ex-Governor Victor Attah administration built and inaugurated the hotel in 2007 while Godswill Akpabio administration completed it with 163 rooms and modern facilities 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.
Akwa Ibom has a four-star hotel, Four Points by Sheraton, at Ikot Ekpene, while the four-star hotel at Tropicana Entertainment Centre, Uyo has been abandoned.
