Menu

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has suspended trading on the shares of Ikeja Hotels Plc because of a lingering dispute among members of the Ibru family – the company’s major shareholders. The Nigerian bourse said it placed Ikeja Hotels’ shares on suspension in order to safeguard the investments of minority shareholders given the impact the dispute is having on the company’s governance structure.

“Securities and Exchange Commission has been notified of this development and the suspension will be in place until further notice,” the NSE said in statement released last Friday. “Dealing members are hereby notified that pursuant to the provisions of Rule 15.45, full suspension has been placed on trading in the shares of Ikeja Hotel Plc with effect from 10 November 2016.”

Ikeja Hotels has been embroiled in a fierce boardroom dispute among members of the Ibru family, who want to oust Goodie Ibru, the company’s Chairman. Family members led by Maiden Ibru – the widow of the late publisher of Guardian Newspapers, Alex Ibru – have accused Goodie of mismanagement and embezzlement. In January last year, Mrs. Ibru organized an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) where Goodie was removed as Chairman. The EGM followed after an earlier order from the Federal High Court in Lagos.

However, Goodie and other family members described the removal as null and void. They argued that Mrs. Ibru’s claim to be the owner of her late husband’s shares in Ikeja Hotels was already under litigation initiated by her stepchildren. Goodie thereafter secured an order from Federal High Court in Abuja, restraining Mrs. Ibru from holding an EGM or acting as a representative of her late husband’s interests in Ikeja Hotels.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was brought into the long-running dispute and the anti-graft agency proceeded to charge Goodie with fraud to the tune of N1 billion in August last year. Goodie denied the charges. In October this year, however, the EFCC declared Goodie wanted after the case stalled in the courts.

Founded in 1972, Ikeja Hotels owns Lagos Sheraton Hotels and Sheraton Abuja Hotels. The company is also a major shareholder in Federal Palace Hotel and Casino, Lagos, which is managed by Sun International, South Africa’s leading hotel group. As at 2013, Ikeja Hotels recorded revenue of N11.22 billion and after-tax profit of N994.8 million.