Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc has laid claim to ownership of the controversial Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Lagos State.

Since the Hotel arrived the shoreline of Lagos State, there had been raging controversies as to who owns it, with the Lagos State Government consistently denying ownership of the multi-million naira state of the art hotel now on the Lagoon.

The state government had publicised the arrival of the hotel in Lagos last year. While the hotel had been lying fallow ever since its arrival, the ownership of the hotel had been a subject of controversy as the newspapers have fed the public with diverse stories, especially attributing ownership of the hotel to the Lagos State government.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamide had last Sunday said the Yacht did not belong to the state government and that the government had not contributed a dime to its procurement while also debunking some media claims that the hotel belonged to the government.

He had said that at the appropriate time, the ownership of the hotel would be made known to the public.

However, at a meeting yesterday, between the state government officials and Diamond Capital Limited, a subsidiary of Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc, the bank laid claims to ownership of the Yacht.

After a meeting chaired by the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to resolve the various issues surrounding the hotel, the Managing Director of Diamond Capital Limited, Mr. Tony Onwu confirmed that the Lagos State Government and the taxpayers in the state had no hand or financial commitment to the hotel.

According to a statement read by Onwu, “Lagos State Government and the taxpayers in Lagos State do not have any financial commitment or otherwise to the entire investment that has brought this project this far.

“We are grateful to the governor for his wise counsel in ensuring the protection of what is a private enterprise between Diamond Capital Limited and its business customers.”

He said several issues relating to the commencement of operations of the Sunborn Yacht Hotel were discussed.

“We have every confidence in the programmes of the governor in ensuring conducive environment for commercial enterprises in Lagos State and we look forward to working with Lagos State in actualizing this dream.”

Special Adviser in the Governor’s Office, Mr. Sunny Ajose, said further mediatory meetings between Diamond Bank and their business customers concerning the Sunborn Yacht would still be convened at a later date to resolve some issues surrounding the hotel.

Source: http://thepmnews.com/2009/10/16/we-own-sunborn-yacht-hotel-—diamond-bank