By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) Chief Olabode Afolayan has flayed claims by ENetSuD, a civil society group based in Kwara state that the state government dubiously inflated the costs of renovation of Kwara Hotel, describing it as mischievous, misleading and inaccurate.

Recall that Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD)Coordinator Alagbonsi Abdulateef was among others quoted in a recent Online publication that the Kwara state government plans to spend N10B onthe rehabilitation of Kwara Hotel in 2025 after spending N13B in 2024.

But Chief Afolayan in an interview with journalists in Ilorin condemned the claims by ENetSuD stressing that the group has failed in its subjective assessment of the issue it knows little or nothing about.

He explained that the review of the cost of rehabilitation of the project in question became inevitable in view of the fact that in the last two to three years, prices of building materials had gone up by 400%
Afolayan also a former president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria cautioned activist to stop misleading the public in a matter they don’t know anything about and also admonished journalists against being sensational in their reports.

” I am a businessman and a developer, I’m not holding a talk for the administration, I’m only addressing or contributing my own quota to the cost of development, “he said.

According to him,”when you talk of Kwara Hotel, now let me go to the issue of publication, somebody said 10 billion naira is being spent on the development of a hotel. Ask yourself, what level of finishing are you looking at? What is the scope of work? At the end of the day, you’ll just discover that you cannot criticize except you know the volume of work to be done and the quality of standard of work expected to be delivered. “

He added “So from my own end, with due respect to people reporting, I think they need to visit and see what and what needs to be done and on the strength of it, you can say how much it costs for a 1km road, which by the way cost about 4 billion naira. Look at the infrastructure that is expected to be provided within the hotel.

“These services are allocated in the contract, then you just put your mind at rest, some of the insinuations are next to nothing but most times, journalism and reporting of activities in Nigeria, sometimes tends towards being sensational and political, not addressing the real issue. “

He particularly explained that,”I’ve gone through the recent publications on Kwara Hotel by Sahara Reporters. I discovered that the publications were published without doing justice to the issue at stake.

“If you look at it very carefully, you’ll agree with me that over the years particularly in the last 2-3 years, the cost of things has gone high to almost 400% increment.”

“Look at it from the exchange rate column, I remember vividly 2-3 years ago when I was on a project in kwara, the exchange rate then was 540 but now it’s over 1600, that’s about 300%, this on its own has given leeway to increase in cost of construction related materials that are mostly imported.

“Some years ago, in one of my estates in Kwara, we sold a 3-bedroom bungalow for 4 million, but now the cost of roofing alone is that same 4 million, not to talk of doors and windows which are over 4 million.”

“The need to review the costs of project rehabilitation became inevitable in view of increasing costs of building materials,and rates of inflation as it concerns the materials that would be imported.One also has to factor in the quality of work to be done. You can’t just be throwing up figures with the deliberate intention of creating ba ad image, that’s not fair.”he said

He added that,”the latest Governor of the Year 2024, awarded Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq by Daily Independent Newspapers were based on Governor’s efforts to reposition the state’s economy through his various projects such as the Innovation Hub, Garment Factory, Sugar Factory Film Studio, Patigi Motel, International Conference Centre, and remodelled Kwara Hotel, among others all came at a price.”