By Sunday Apah
The Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) has taken note of the Akwa Ibom State Government’s public notice announcing the interim closure of Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, effective 22nd August, 2026, which the government said it is meant to allow for the completion of ongoing renovation works and the handover of management to Aleph Hospitality, without a fixed timeframe of reopening the facility.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by CHRAN Director, Otuekong Franklyn Isong and Secretary, Research & Documentation, Comrade Etimbuk Ekpenyong stated that while CHRAN welcomes any genuine effort by the Government of Akwa Ibom State to reposition the prestigious 5-Star Hotel into a well-run, profitable, and globally competitive facility, we insist that this transition must not proceed without a probe into the finances and personnel of the Hotel, to ascertain how the facility has been managed in the past 19 years.
The statement read: “Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort was conceptualised and built in 2007 by the administration of Arc. Victor Attah. The Hotel has passed through several management arrangements and rebrands over the years, including: Le-Meridien and Golf Resort, Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, and very recently, as Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort.
“The CHRAN is perturbed that despite these successive changes in management and brand identity, the Hotel has consistently failed to live up to its potential as one of the state’s flagship tourism assets, with His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno, Governor of Akwa Ibom State himself acknowledging in a public function that the facility has repeatedly operated at a loss.
“The CHRAN therefore calls on the Government of Akwa Ibom State to: Commission an independent financial audit of the Hotel covering its full management history from the periods of Le-Meridien and Golf Resort, Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, and Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort managements, to determine how revenues were generated, accounted for, and utilised, in order to establish the true financial position of the facility before it is handed over to Aleph Hospitality brand.
“Commission a personnel audit of the Hotel’s staffing and management structure in the past 19 years, to determine how staffing decisions were made, whether the right skills and competencies were in place, and how this may have contributed to the facility’s underperformance.
“Conduct and publish a probe into the reasons for the Hotel’s repeated failure to perform maximally under successive brand management arrangements, so that the lessons learned can properly constitute the new management framework and prevent a repeat of the same failures under Aleph Hospitality brand.
“The CHRAN maintains a firm position that the people of Akwa Ibom State deserve the right to know how their public asset of this magnitude has been managed over the years, and why successive attempts to run it as a profitable, world-class facility have not succeeded.
“CHRAN emphasises that a comprehensive audit and probe are not exercises in mere fault-finding, but essential steps to ensure that the new management under Aleph Hospitality is not set up to fail, ab-initio, by inheriting the same unresolved problems that undermined its predecessors. We assert that without a clear understanding of what went wrong in the past, there is no credible basis for confidence that the outcome of this transition to Aleph Hospitality management will be different from others.
“Our Center urges the Government of Akwa Ibom State to demonstrate genuine commitment to transparency and accountability by carrying out this probe, making its findings public, and by ensuring that the transition to new management is conducted in a manner that is open, accountable, and in the best interest of the people of Akwa Ibom State.
“CHRAN will continue to monitor developments regarding the ongoing renovation and repositioning of Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, and will not relent in demanding for transparency and accountability in the management of the state’s public assets, when necessary.
