WEMPCO denies plan to exit Nigeria

Oriental Hotel owned by WEMPCO. Photo/booking

WEMPCO denies plan to exit Nigeria

The Western Metal Products Company (WEMPCO) has refuted media reports that it is planning to end its business operations in Nigeria.

In a statement yesterday, WEMPCO said that despite the challenging business environment, it was committed to and had ‘unshakable’ faith in the resilience of the Nigerian economy and would continue to develop alongside the country for many decades to come.

The statement read in part: “We must hereby categorically state that there has never been and there is no intention of the WEMPCO Group to exit Nigeria as stated in the reports.

“The Lagos Oriental Hotel is a flagship in the Nigerian hospitality business but is not a flagship of the WEMPCO Group. It is an investment made by the Group in 2008, but not part of our core manufacturing business.

“Although the recent spate of advertisement of the hotel was not initiated or authorised by our group, to divest in the asset would simply be a commercial decision based on the merits of a reasonable transaction.

“Contrary to claims in the reports that the WEMPCO Group had relied on Federal Government waivers, the group has never received special concessions outside of those extended to industries as a whole.”