Ooni
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has begun work on a N7.6 billion resort in the ancient town.
The Ife Grand Resort & Leisure is sited near the Ile-Ife toll gate on the Ife-Ibadan Expressway.
The project will be a replica but a far better model of his Inagbe Grand Resort in Lagos, built for N3.5 billion.
A close associate of the monarch said the project, a seven-star hotel, would consist of 300 rooms.
Facilities in the resort will include an artificial lake on which an 8,000-capacity floating bar will stand, spas, a golf course, three swimming pools, a lawn tennis court, an indoor sports hall, 30 horses and quad bikes for pleasure ride.
The resort will also feature a children’s play centre mud brick houses, and a 5,000- guest hall.
Most of the materials to be used will be sourced from Ile-Ife and processed by the monarch’s factory.
Operating under the corporate name Gran Imperio Limited, Ogunwusi’s company specialises in developing estates and resorts.
The source added that the sites for other resorts had been acquired in Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Maiduguri.
The monarch, in his speech after his selection, said he would embark on activities to develop Ile-Ife.
Oba Ogunwusi is to be inaugurated as the 51st Ooni on December 7.