Deplorable roads, electricity cripple MezDora Estil’O hospitality business Ajakpani village, Umunya investment , says Ichie Obi Charles Onyekwuluje

www.odogwublog.com reports that an investor in hospitality Industry and former Chevron Oil Corporation staff, Ichie Obi Charles Onyekwuluje has identified lack of access roads and poor electricity power supply as the bane of investment in Anambra state and other states in Nigeria, calling on the government at all levels to brace up to its responsibilities of linking feeder roads and improving on power supply.

Ichie Onyekwuluje who is the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of MezDora Estil’O hospitality business Ajakpani village, Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra state regretted that he has used generator in his hotel for over one year while the less than one kilometer Umunya NYSC road that linked the hotel at the area from the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway was at comatose due to neglect and reckless abandon by the successive governments.

The MezDora Estil'o Hotel CEO spoke with www.odogwublog.com shortly before welcoming Knights, Dames and Lady Knights of St Christopher , Diocese on the Niger that had launch at the hotel after its Colloquium meeting at the Camp of Light , Umunya.

 The CEO, Ichie Obi Onyekwuluje

Igwe Onyekwuluje

 He noted that the road, when fixed, will boost the economic fortunes of the farmers in the area who he said, will not only find it useful in evacuating their farm produce but also pave the way for buyers to have easy access to the community to patronize their farm produce.

He stressed that he has single handedly maintained the feeder road that led to the NYSC Orientation Camp and the proposed Chapel of Light University for a very long time, expressing fear that inaccessibility of the road will affect his investment in the area.

"Once it rains, the road will be completely cut off. We have talked to the community and the local government about that because we have been maintaining the road since we brought our investment here. If we stop maintaining the road, NYSC members will find it difficult to access their camp. When we were building this place, no truck comes in here because there is no road linking it to this place and we have to wait until after the rainy season and that caused the delay in making this place ready in four years, otherwise, it would have been in two years.

“As it is, the Enugu-Onitsha express way is not viable, the internal roads are not viable and passable. If we want to stand taste of competition, with other renowned international hospitality industries, and we don’t have the road, this hotel will die young. If the road is tarred, we will have adequate patronages. No customer will like his car stained just to patronize a hotel. Sometimes, our customers get stocked and we toe them with bigger vehicles. So these are the major challenges we have been having.

“On the Electricity issue, we want to see that we draw the light because we have been operating on Generator for the past one year. If you check the multiplier effect we have, you will discover that we have lost over N20 million. Government should not undermine investors. I bet you in this part of the state, there are few enviable investments like this.

“Government should encourage us for bringing this investment home to heed to the call from the government for Anambrarians to come home and invest. To join hands in developing the state. We are now here and they can’t give us the road. If we manage it for the next two years and we don’t have return on investment, we close down and go to somewhere else. This is part of  the reason why people are running away from coming home to invest in the state.  I don’t want the government to do any other thing but the road” he said.

On his part, the traditional ruler of Umunya, Igwe  Kris Onyekwuluje commended his palace secretary number one, Ichie Obi Charles Onyekwuluje (Ngene Umunya) for heeding the call of the state government to invest home, adding that Governor Willie Obiano has provided enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state by making the state an investment destination for investors.

 Igwe Onyekwuluje who is also the Chairman, Contact and Mobilization Committee of the South East traditional rulers council and Chairman, Oyi Local Government traditional rulers council, however appealed to the governor to fix the Umunya NYSC Orientation camp road which led the MezDora Estil’O hotel as promised during his re-election campaign.

“What Ichie Obi did is what I call ‘Aku luo’ Uno and that is what our governor has been pleading the people outside the state to come home and invest since he made the enabling environment for investment to thrive.

“The only challenge we have here is the Umunya NYSC road which is less than one kilometer road but the governor has promised during campaign that he will fix the road. We are hopeful.” he said.

Photo of the Hotel