Developer kicks as Kano demolishes structures in Daula Hotel, Hajj Camp

Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, on Sunday, continued with the demolition of structures said to have been illegally erected in public spaces, including the old Daula Hotel and the Hajj Camp of the state.

But the developer of the old Daula Hotel, Lamash Properties Limited, has said it will institute a lawsuit against the government to seek compensation of over N10 billion.

It alleged that it was not given a fair hearing, adding that it had a subsisting public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the government to develop the property.

Daily Trust reports that the state governor, building on the demolition of properties on the Race Course playground that was carried out on Saturday, led the task force he set up to the old Daula Hotel and Hajj Camp in the early hours of Sunday to demolish structures on the property.

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The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sanusi Bature, told the Daily Trust that the demolition was the first of many to come in the governor’s resolve to “restore” the urban development master plan of Kano based on his campaign promises.

But reacting, Lamash Properties Limited, in a press release signed by its Director of Sales, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, said it signed a PPP contract agreement with the Kano State government during the past administration to redevelop the old Daula Hotel with the construction of 25 luxury apartments, a commercial hub with various sizes of let-able commercial space, and the Daula Boutique Hotel, a 90-room five-star hotel.

The firm said the hotel, which is supposed to be the government’s share in the arrangement, had already been completed and handed over to the government, while the other projects were about 90 per cent completed.

It said without any notice, it got information that the buildings, including the hotel, had been demolished by the government.

It stated that lack of fair hearing was most unbecoming and a negative message to investors.

“It was, to say the least, a development most appalling that in this era of the paucity of funds available to government and high rate of unemployment in the country, the state government under whatever guise, decided to demolish a property (the Daula Boutique Hotel) that belongs to it and was supposed to bring in huge revenue to the government and also help reduce unemployment in the state, among others.

“We have instructed our legal team to institute legal actions against the state government to claim compensation to the tune of N10 billion already invested in the project and to stop the state government from further taking actions that will negatively affect us based on the PPP contract agreement we signed with it,” the release read in part.