The General Manager of Glocient Hospitality, Lanre Sharafa Balogun, has said Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort is not partisan and remains focused on investment, job creation and adding value to Ekiti State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Balogun made the clarification at the JAGZ Hospitality Conference 2.0, held at JAGZ Hotel in Ibadan, where stakeholders in the hospitality industry, security agencies and other participants discussed security, regulation and the role of hotels ahead of the 2027 elections.
The conference also featured contributions from security officials, including the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, who warned against allowing hotels to become political offices as political activities intensify ahead of the elections.
Speaking on the position of Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort, Balogun said its partnership with the Ekiti State Government was purely aimed at business development, investment and employment creation.
‘First of all, we are not partisan. We are a private business.’
He explained that Glocient Hospitality entered into a multi-year concession arrangement to transform the resort, which he said had previously been abandoned.
‘What we’ve done is to partner with the states, with the state governments to create employment by getting a multi-year concession of the resort.’
Balogun said the company had invested billions of naira in the transformation of Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort, describing the investment as an effort to revive the facility and preserve its heritage.
‘Don’t forget the resort was abandoned, it was a dead asset. We’ve invested billions to transform the resort, transform the heritage.’
According to him, the investment has also created employment opportunities for residents of Ekiti State.
He said more than 250 people had been employed at the resort, with about 70 per cent of the workers coming from the state.
‘We’ve employed over 250 people. 70% of that 250 are individuals of the state.’
The Glocient Hospitality executive said the employment figures reflected the company’s objective of using its investment to create opportunities and contribute to the development of the state.
‘That is adding value, transforming lives to the state. We are not partisan. We are there to impact and transform lives.’
Balogun added that, beyond creating employment and transforming the resort, the company was also seeking a return on its investment.
‘What we are there for is to create employment and also, at the end of the day, have a return on investments.’
He described Ikogosi as a model for Glocient Hospitality’s broader plan to transform moribund hospitality assets across Nigeria.
‘Our goal is to transform moribund assets in major states of Nigeria. Ikogosi is our model business that we’re transforming to show to the world.’
Balogun said the transformation of Ikogosi demonstrated the capacity of Nigerian expertise to revive abandoned assets and turn them into viable business and tourism destinations.
He maintained that the resort’s activities should therefore be viewed from the perspective of investment, employment and development rather than partisan politics.
On security and regulation, Balogun said hotel owners and managers could not avoid working within the law, stressing that regulation was necessary to protect hospitality businesses and their customers.
‘As practitioners, as hotel owners, and as managers of hotels, we can’t shy away from being regulated. We are governed by law, we are regulated by law.’
He said criminal incidents in hotels could have a damaging effect on their businesses, citing kidnapping and fraud as examples of incidents capable of affecting public confidence.
Balogun explained that when such incidents occur, prospective customers could begin to associate the hotel with criminal activities, thereby affecting its reputation and patronage.
He consequently called for stronger collaboration between hospitality operators and security agencies to ensure the safety of hotels and resorts.
‘The take home is that we must be regulated, and let’s partner with the regulatory authorities to ensure that our hospitality industry and our hotels and resorts are safe.’