The Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Teritory has queried the sale of the Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers and Sofitel International Hotels, Abuja for $84m.

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ms. Irene Chigbue, told the committee during her appearance at the public hearing on the sale of Federal Government houses on Tuesday that the two hotels were built by the Federal Government with a loan facility of $460m.

She said a loan of $300m was taken by the government from a German bank to build the Sheraton Hotels in 1982.

According to her, the loan could not be repaid by the hotel, which was later acquired by the Federal Government in the form of 87 per cent equity.

She noted that although there were other shareholders at the time the hotel came into being, the Federal Government acquired 87 per cent of the shares.

She said the government sold 51 per cent of its stake to Hans Gremly for $34m after some companies competed for it through an open bidding process.

Chigbue argued that the process was transparent and was duly advertised for technical bids before the process was carried out.

On the sale of Sofitel, which is now NICON Luxury Hotel, Chigbue said the Federal Government took an initial loan of about $130m in 1980 to construct the hotel and spent another 19.9million euros (about $29m) for furnishing and kitchen equipment in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in 2003.

She said the hotel was later sold to NICON Consortium for $50m, after Delta Gate Group, the preferred bidder with $144m, failed to meet its bidding obligation.

She also narrated how another loan of $5m taken to furnish the hotel was wasted after the facilities were left to rot at the port of the exporting country.

According to Chigbue, the loans were not paid back and had to be taken over as part of the foreign debt of the Federal Government, which was settled by the last administration.

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me i am tired of dat country,everyday one scandal or d other

On the sale of Sofitel, which is now NICON Luxury Hotel, Chigbue said the Federal Government took an initial loan of about $130m in 1980 to construct the hotel and spent another 19.9million euros (about $29m) for furnishing and kitchen equipment in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in 2003.

it doesn't matter how much u spent on building it. the hotel would obviously devalue if it wasn't maintained properly. just because u bought a car 25000 two years doesn't mean u can sell it for the same price.