Thursday 24th Noverber 2016

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Hotel Occupancy Drops Below 35% as Recession Bites Obinna Chima Nigeria’s hospitality sector has been hit hard by the economic slowdown, with occupancy rates in hotels falling below 35 per cent this year due to the contraction of economic activities in the country. Findings by THISDAY

showed that hardest hit were the four and five-star hotels in Lagos and Abuja, where bookings have dropped significantly as individuals and companies now prefer to book rooms at cheaper boutique hotels due to the

economic crunch. THISDAY gathered that while the occupancy rate of Southern Sun Hotels, Ikoyi has dropped to about 45 per cent, the occupancy rate at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, a five-star

hotel and the second largest property in Lagos, is as low as 25 per cent. Also, the occupancy rate at Wheatbaker Hotel in Ikoyi is currently estimated at 30 per cent, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island,

which boasts a combination of four and five-star sections in its sprawling property, is down to 40 per cent, while the Federal Palace Hotel, also in Victoria Island, has dropped to 35 per cent. In Abuja, the Transcorp

Buhari to Present 2017 Budget Dec 1… Page 11

Hilton, the largest property in the federal capital city, which over a year ago boasted an occupancy rate of 70-80 per cent, has seen a slight drop to 65 per cent. A company source said the reason the Transcorp Hilton has continued to attract guests Continued on page 8

Thursday 24 November, 2016 Vol 21. No 7889. Price: N250

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Military Launches Operation to Free Remaining Chibok Girls… Page 49

Jubilation in Akure as INEC Declares Jegede PDP Candidate Party, Ekweremadu, Fayose, others hail A’Court ruling Jimoh Ibrahim says it’s not binding on him President pleads with Ondo State residents to vote for Akeredolu TobiSoniyi,Onyebuchi Ezigboin AbujaandJamesSowoleinAkure It was jubilation galore

yesterday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, after the Court of Appeal reinstated Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN)

as the rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest Saturday’s governorship election in the

state. Following the ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

last night complied with the order of the court by reinstating Jegede as the candidate of the PDP.

However, the factional candidate of the PDP, Mr. Continued on page 8

Obasanjo to Buhari: Stop the Excuses, Nigeria Needs Result-oriented Policies Insists N’Assembly stinks, supports action against S’Court judges Obinna Chima Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to stop blaming past administrations for the current economic woes and focus on implementing result-oriented policies and programmes that will turn the economy around. He equally cautioned

that if Buhari fails to fix the economy to relieve the pain and anguish of many Nigerians, the “gains of fighting the insurgency and corruption will pale into insignificance”. The former president, who said this yesterday while delivering the keynote address at the first Akintola Continued on page 8

MOVES TO REPOSITION ITS ECONOMY Amnesty International: 150 Pro-Biafra OGUN L-R: Head of the defunct Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi; and former Military Governor of Ogun State, Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya Activists Killed in Nigeria… Page 50 Speaker, (rtd), after the governor presented the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly, in Abeokuta, Ogun State… Tuesday


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