The Empowerment for Unemployed Youths Initiative (EUYI) in collaboration with other sister civil society organizations in a press statement made available to the media by the spokesman Comrade Solomon Adodo on Tuesday 9th of April, 2019, called on the Nigerian Ports Authority and management of Agura Hotel, Abuja, issued seven days ultimatum to compensate the management of H & H Integrated Services Limited after it’s building within the hotel was engulfed by flames in February 2019.
The Initiative, through this medium, calls on the hotel’s management to recall that it entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with H & H Integrated Services Limited, – a company wholly owned by Comr. Humphrey Onyima, the publisher/CEO of Leadership Scorecard magazine, a member of the EUYI.
Without question, it is on record that Comr. Onyima had, through so much toil and strain, established a business, selling snacks and other FMCG while utilizing the same property as his personal office. Records further attest that aside the space provided; Onyima had to construct the said structure which housed his investments and this with the approval of Agura Hotel, at personal cost to himself. We were thus elated when his business took off in January 2018.
While we still rejoiced with him, we received with shock the mind-numbing news that his business structure, investments and properties within Agura hotel premises were gutted by fire, with nothing salvaged. We are further pained that the response of the security and emergency teams was slow and, at best; hence, the fire could not be stopped; an action that put not just the hotel but the lives of its guests in danger.
We are further made aware that, in accordance with the terms specified in the MoU signed by both parties, aside the rent rate of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (600,000.00) per annum, H & H was obliged to a monthly service charge of ten thousand naira (N10,000) which, ordinarily, should cater for such ancillary needs as security and emergency response. Howbeit, we are left perplexed as to why your team was unable to rally to save his property while it burned.
Information available to us shows that H & H had suspended its operations for sometime, owing to the fact that electricity supply to its business premises was disconnected by Agura Hotel. As at the time of the fire, no staff of H & H was around and the hotel management failed to even notify H & H prior to the reconnection of the structure to power supply which ostensibly led to the fire incidence.
On the heels of this and in consideration of the fact that no measures of respite were put in place for H & H, we herein call on you to expedite measures for the compensation of H & H over the loss incurred as a result of negligence displayed by the management of Agura Hotels.
In addition, we have gathered that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has taking over the management of Agura Hotel prior to the time of entering contract with H & H, thus, making the D.G NPA the Chairman of the said Agura Hotel; we hereby humbly appeal that this measure of resolution be emplaced within seven (7) days of this notice.
Failure to do this would communicate to us that you have only chosen to victimize a hitherto unemployed youth who sought a legitimate means to earn a living and, as such, we shall be left with no other option but to resume protests within your premises.
