Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, the state government is in moves to book all the rooms in all hotels in Owerri, the state capital.
The state Commissioner for Tourism, Jerry Egemba, in a memo addressed to all Chief Executive Officers of all the hotels in the Owerri metropolis, stated that the state government would pay for all the rooms in the hotels starting from November 4 to November 11.
The memo, dated November 25, which was sighted by our correspondent in Owerri on Monday, requested all the CEOs of the hotels to forward the details of their hotels and accommodation bills on or before Thursday, October 26 for payment by the state government.
The correspondence was titled, “Request for reservation of all your hotel rooms from November 4 to November 11, 2023.”
It read, “I wish to refer to the above subject and inform you that the Ministry of Tourism intends to rent and occupy all the rooms in your hotel no matter the size and classification from Saturday, November 4 to Saturday, November 11, 2023, at your usual cost per room for full occupation.
“I, therefore, request you to submit to my office before 12 noon, tomorrow, Thursday, 26 October 2023, details of your accommodation bills for all the rooms covering the period for settlement.”
Reacting to the development, the Director of New Media and Publicity of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Lancelot Obiaku, said that the state government was afraid of defeat.
“It is very clear that the state government knows that the people of the state have rejected it, otherwise, why are they requesting to occupy all the hotels in Owerri from now till the elections if it is not the fear of the opposition? The PDP will defeat the APC on November 11. It is very clear,” he said.
