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Lord Denning, Oputa Adorn Watbridge Hotels Hall of Fame

By Samuel Udoma

The duo of legal heavyweights, Lord Denning and Justice Chukwudifu Oputa have adorned the Watbridge Hotels Hall of Fame. The hotel’s Hall of Fame celebrates outstanding achievers in different fields of endeavour, ranging from politics to sports, law, statesmanship, literature, pop culture, among other areas.

Lord Alfred Thompson Denning (1899-1999) was a top English judge whose career spanned 37 years. He served for 20 years as the head of the Court of Appeals, one of the most influential positions in the English legal system. Denning retired from the Bench in 1982 and in retirement, continued to publish influential books on jurisprudence until his death in 1999 at the age of 100.

On the other hand, Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa of the popular Oputa Panel, was a former Justice of Supreme Court of Nigeria. Hailed from Oguta in Imo State. A quintessential Lawyer and jurist, he was called the ‘Socrates of the Supreme Court’. Both Denning and Oputa are considered as among the greatest jurists of the modern era.

With life-size portrait of the duo displayed at the hotel’s reception lounge, Watbridge recognizes the legacies of the top jurists and their invaluable contributions to jurisprudence. Denning and Oputa join an extraordinary league of Watbridge Hotels Hall of Famers, others among whom include, Muhammad Ali, William Shakespeare, Magufuli, etc.

Meanwhile, Watbridge Hotels has continued to enjoy top ratings for its unique and innovative services. The upscale hospitality outfit last week unveiled its agricultural arm, with the opening of a state of the art cold room. The inauguration of the edifice was done by the Akwa Ibom Governor-elect, Pastor Umo Eno.

Pastor Eno, himself, a well known hotelier, at the commissioning praised Watbridge Hotels for ‘deepening the value chain and creating more employment’ through the agricultural intervention. The incoming Governor on his visit to the hotel’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o Guest Library same day, hailed it as a ‘fantastic innovation’.

Among Watbridge Hotels standout features include exotic rooms, a super poolside, halls, expansive car park, underground nite club, a village square, among others.