Imo hospitality industry suffocates under state agents’ fraudulent court orders

30 hotels fraudulently sealed 95 percent workforce on redundancy

While Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is keen on seeing that the state’s monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) is jacked up from its present N1.2 billion to between N3 billion and N4 billion, some fraudulent staff of the state judiciary and revenue collectors from the Imo Revenue Service have been accused of engaging in activities capable of frustrating and killing the hotel and hospitality industry in the state.

The hotel and hospitality subsector of the state’s economy is the biggest employer of labour in Imo after the government sector, and as such is regarded as the goose that lays the golden egg for the government. Any attempt therefore made to hinder the growth of this sector means the govenor’s plans to beef up the state’s IGR may remain just a dream.

Now, the hotel and hospitality subsector is still suffering as a result of the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Consequently, this sector has sent on redundancy 90 to 95 percent of its workforce since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country, Chima Chukwunyere, chairman, Imo State Hoteliers’ Association (ISHA), told Business A.M. in an exclusive interview in Owerri.

The majority of the patronage for the hotel and hospitality industry comes from outside the state and because of the hassles and the difficulties created by the interstate lockdown people have not been coming to patronise this sector and that has left it with low patronage.

“It pains me that the majority of the hotels could not pay their staff up to 20 per cent of their salaries when they were asked to go in early March when the lockdown started.

“And the worst is that at the heat of the Coronavirus pandemic some revenue agents were going round sealing hotels. A lot of hotels were sealed without due process; hotels were sealed without court orders, [or with] court orders that were fraudulently obtained during Okorocha’s administration.

“The most worrisome part of the sealing is that the courts were affected by the lockdown, they were not in operation, that some revenue agents were parading with some security agents to go to hotels as early as 6:30 am to 7:00 am to seal and lock you from outside. They will lock the hotel and put a seal leaving a few guests, customers and staff inside the hotels; very unlawful activity, and so it has been and that has not stopped,” the ISHA chairman said.

He further accused the revenue collectors and some judicial officers of collaborating to compound the problems of the hotel industry.

Chukwunyere revealed that up to 30 hotels were illegally sealed by the agents of the Imo State Revenue Service.

“I know that the Lobic Inn around Amakohia was sealed, about 25-30 hotels were sealed. We have evidence, it’s not like I am guessing or I am trying to misinform, it is not one of those fake information; over 30 hotels were sealed without a court bailiff. When you go to seal a hotel, without a bailiff, who is in a position to help carry it out?” He asked?

He said the security agents are to protect “you when you are doing a legitimate duty”.

According to Chukwunyere, “one of the things that make the sealing of the hotels illegal is that the courts were not represented and based on what we saw they did, they did not follow due process and it is not the best”.

The ISHA chairman feels unhappy that even as the hotel and hospitality subsector is the largest employer of labour in the state, the state has refused to help in its well-being.

“We have all heard the gesture of the governor of Cross River State when he addressed the people of Cross Rivers State and gave wonderful palliative to the hotel industry not to pay taxes, and other incentives were given to encourage them because he appreciates them.

“But one thing that pains me is that it is like the people down here are not appreciative of the fact that the hotel industry remains the biggest industry in Imo and, apart from the government, is the largest employer of labour. And I have said that anybody that kills the hen that lays the golden egg is simply saying that he is tired of eating eggs,” Chukwunyere said.

He implored the Imo State government to support the hotel industry as every hotel owner is willing to pay its genuine tax to support the government because” we have our revenue obligation to the government, that one is not negotiable”.