Mr. Goodie Ibru has resigned as chairman of Ikeja Hotels Plc.
His resignation came barely two months after a judge in Abuja backed up his claim as the chairman of the hotel group, amidst a rancorous family dispute, involving Maiden Ibru, the wife of the late younger brother, Alex Ibru.
Goodie Ibru, recipient of the national honour of officer of the Order of the Niger, said he has taken the move in the overall interest of the company and the larger Ibru family.
Ibru left the country for medical treatment and was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for what many speculated was a result of a petition orchestrated by family members.
The new rapproachment is expected to cause the EFCC investigations to end, and begin a process of healing in the wealthy family, which has to bury two of its elders, Michael and Felix, in the last one year.
Mr Goodie Ibru, in a statement, anchored his decision on the need to get Ikeja Hotels to perform optimally, which have been hampered as a result of multiplicity of law suits filed by shareholders in the contest for the management and control of the company.
He stated that the decision of Justice Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja of December 21, 2016 confirming him as chairman vindicated his struggle for corporate governance in the company and provided right timing for him to retire as founding chairman after 32 years in office.
Mr. Ibru called on the younger generation of Ibrus to work with other shareholders to continue to carry on the torch of excellence for which Ikeja Hotels has been known for.
He stated also that the Ibru family has gone through a tough phase in the recent past and as the only surviving son of the first generation of Ibrus, he is more committed to working with his sisters on keeping the family united.
Mr. Ibru founded Ikeja Hotels Plc in 1975. He opened its flagship property, the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, in 1985. The company acquired in 1992 the Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, the holding company of the Federal Palace Hotel and Casino.
Also under Mr. Ibru’s chairmanship, the group acquired Capital Hotels Plc, the owner of the Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers.
Mr. Ibru, 75, has been a leading light of the hospitality industry in Nigeria in the last four decades
