Ijaw youths take rent on ‘Alamieyeseigha’s property’

Chelsea Hotel, adjacent to the shopping complex called Grand Square, Muhammadu Buhari Way in the Central Business District, Abuja has been blighted by vandalism and neglect. The property was seized from the late Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha following his conviction of graft and money laundering charges. The hotel was confiscated by the Economic and Financial […]

Chelsea Hotel, adjacent to the shopping complex called Grand Square, Muhammadu Buhari Way in the Central Business District, Abuja has been blighted by vandalism and neglect. The property was seized from the late Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha following his conviction of graft and money laundering charges.
The hotel was confiscated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and handed over to the Bayelsa State government. The state was expected to take full control of the property, manage it and get back what was plundered from it during the days of the Alamieyeseigha administration .
But several years after, Bayelsa State government has failed to put the facility to proper use. Window and door frames and panels that were damaged or vandalized are still left the way they were.
Our reporter who visited the place in the past weeks observed that though bushes were cleared on the premises of the facility, the place is no near what could be described as a hotel.
But diverse activities were taking place there. The main hall of the hotel has been turned into a church called the Ark of God.
A lady has a food selling corner and a barber’s shop is by the entrance. Our reporter gathered that all rooms in the hotel have been taken. People walk in and out of the place.
One of the tenants said he paid money to Ijaw Youth Organisation to get his room. He declined to say how much.
The Acting Director of the Department of Development Control of Abuja Municipal Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Mr Hamza Madaki Tayyub told Daily Trust that Amenities and Aesthetics Division of his office will look into the matter.
“I’ll send my people there to see the situation and advise me on what to do,” he promised.
Two years ago, Bayelsa State government acknowledged receiving the property from EFCC. It said efforts were underway to resuscitate the hotel and put it to use.
But efforts to get the same government explain why the place is still what it is failed.
The immediate past commissioner for Information, Barr. Esuene Dan Kikile who promised to call our correspondent and respond to the issues raised about the hotel did not call after all. He also failed to pick calls or respond to the text messages sent to his mobile phone.
Similarly, the immediate past commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Kamela Okara declined to comment on phone after visiting his office several times without seeing him.
It is said that in Ijaw land, the late Alamieyeseigha was considered a hero. He was a key ally of former president Goodluck Jonathan. When Alamieyeseigha was governor of Bayelsa State, Jonathan was his deputy.
Jonathan’s government pardoned the former Bayelsa State governor in 2013 after he was convicted of stealing millions of dollars and money laundering.
Presidential adviser at the time, Doyin Okupe said Alamieyeseigha had been pardoned because he had been “remorseful” even as Nigerians described the decision as a major blow to efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.
He was released in 2007, two days after receiving a two-year sentence. He was first arrested in the UK in 2005 on money-laundering charges, but jumped bail.
Officials said he fled the UK disguised in women’s clothing. He was arrested in Nigeria and became the first ex-governor to be convicted of corruption.
Last year, he lost his son in Dubai and he died in October last year.