By Dipo Olowookere
The popular Lafia Hotel in the Apata area of Ibadan, Oyo State has been shutdown by the management of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, which owes the hospitality facility.
Lafia Hotel was closed on Friday as a result of consistent losses recorded by the company over the years.
It was learned that the hotel has been running at loss with the management of Odu’a Investment coming to its rescue most times.
According to a statement issued at the weekend by Odu’a Investment, with its closure, the management can now think of ways to reposition the hotel and make it a profitable venture in the future.
Head of Corporate Affairs at Odu’a Investment Company, Mr Victor Ayetoro, explained in the statement that, “The action taken on Friday, June 29, 2018 became imperative following the directive of the Odu’a Board and shareholders to put a stop to the recurring losses being incurred by the hotels in the group over time and to salvage the legacy of the heritage bequeathed by our forebears.
“The hotels have been struggling with inability to meet up with their financial obligations, which include, among others, backlog of workers’ salaries, huge debts to creditors, non-remittance of statutory commitments such as VAT (Value Added Tax) and WHT (Withholding Tax) and utility bills.
“Odu’a Investment, the sole owner of the hotels, had on many occasions came to the rescue of the hotels by releasing funds for renovation purposes and settling some of the outstanding hotel debts and statutory obligations, which had been the experience in the past without any significant improvements in the fortunes of the hotels.”
Business Post gathered that apart from Lafia Hotel, Odu’a Investment also controls Premier Hotel in Ibadan and Airport Hotel in Lagos.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
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