Photo: Gov Alex Otti
By: Daniel Kanu
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has explained that the decision to upgrade the long-abandoned Enyimba Hotel in Aba to a five-star facility was driven by the scale of investments his administration has made to reposition the city as a leading commercial and industrial hub in West Africa.
Speaking during the official groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the hotel—now renamed Enyimba-Radisson Hotel—the governor said Aba’s growing economic profile demands world-class hospitality infrastructure capable of hosting local and international investors, businesses, and events.
According to Otti, the project will not only create employment opportunities but also strengthen the state’s tourism sector and expand internally generated revenue.
He assured that the state government would collaborate closely with Radisson Blu, the core investor, to ensure timely delivery of the project.
“Over the next 12 months, our teams shall work closely with civil engineering partners to deliver a 120-room facility befitting of Aba’s rising stature as a major commercial and industrial destination in West Africa and beyond,” the governor said.
He added that a state-of-the-art convention centre would also be completed within the same period to cater to corporate organisations and public sector institutions seeking premium event facilities.
Otti projected that within 18 months of commencement of operations, demand would likely necessitate the construction of an additional 130 rooms within the same vicinity, bringing the total capacity to 250 rooms over the next four years.
The facility, he said, would serve both domestic and international guests and position Aba as a preferred destination for conferences and high-level engagements.
The governor recalled that the Enyimba Hotel project was first conceived 53 years ago under the administration of the late Ukpabi Asika of the defunct East Central State and later commenced by the government of the late Sam Mbakwe.
He regretted that the project was abandoned by successive administrations after Mbakwe left office.
Otti commended members of the Aba business community and stakeholders who made efforts in the mid-1990s to salvage the project.
He specifically acknowledged the Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) and notable investors including Nze C. O. Maduako, Chief Leo Ike Okoye, Chief Dr. S. C. Okolo, Chief Sam Ejimofor and Lord Chief Dike Udensi.
He disclosed that all individuals who invested in the project have been duly recognised, with shares allocated to them and, where applicable, their successors.
Earlier in the day, Governor Otti commissioned the reconstructed Ovom Street at Ogbor Hill in Aba, an area previously devastated by gully erosion that submerged homes and threatened hundreds of properties.
Describing the past situation as “seemingly hopeless,” the governor revealed that his administration filled a 42-metre-deep gully that stretched over 600 metres within two years.
He said the use of rigid pavement technology and necessary environmental control measures has not only ended the erosion threat but also prevented future recurrence.
The Director-General of the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), Architect Uche Ukeje, recalled that Otti had visited the erosion site in 2024 and promised urgent intervention to safeguard lives and property.
Also speaking, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District, praised the governor’s leadership, describing it as transformative and responsive to the needs of the people.
On behalf of the hospitality brand, Senior Director of Development for Africa, Mr. Erwan Garnier, said the partnership signals that Abia State is ready for global collaboration and assured that the project would meet international standards.
In separate remarks, the contractor handling the Ovom Street reconstruction, Chief Ifeanyi Okorie, as well as the Chairman of GADA, Ide John Udeagbala, the Mayor of Aba North, Timothy Iheke, and members of the Aba business community, lauded the governor’s infrastructural drive and investment strategy in the commercial city.
The event attracted members of the Aba business community, traditional rulers, residents, and government officials.
A minute’s silence was observed in honour of the pioneers of the Enyimba Hotel project.
In an interview, a landlord on Ovom Street, Mr. Patrick Onyebueke, said his property would have been lost to erosion if not for the government’s swift intervention, noting that over 100 properties had previously been destroyed by the gully.
