Four Years Ago In Akwa Ibom State

By Clement Ikpatt
Thursday, May 23, 2019

Four years ago, Udom Emmanuel was elected to govern from the continuity platform and what I call conventional tourism was in the upswing in Akwa Ibom State. All modern infrastructure were in place for a robust, multifaceted and modern tourism sector.

By May 2015, Akwa Ibom State had fought her way into the global tourism mao; whoever heard about Nigeria was told about the fastest growing tourists' destination - Akwa Ibom State. They wanted to visit and invest in Godswill Akpabio's land of limitless possibilities.

The Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort was the tourists' nest in Akwa Ibom State: there was never enough room for conventions, retreats, meetings, family fun and international lime light.

But, in just one year, Udom Emmanuel killed and cremated the Akwa Ibom tourism sector. Not only were Starwood Group and Le Meridien management painfully forced to leave, medical tourism by way of Ibom Specialist Hospital became stillborn. Udom Emmanuel did not fulfill contract obligations with the experts.

The Tropicana Entertainment Complex was spitefully abandoned. Udom Emmanuel locked up the already completed mall. Also, he squooshed the top shelf Wet and Dry Park and abandoned the 17 storey hotel building that remains under construction and for which containers load of furniture are rotting away or likely stolen.

Every modern city prides in her own smart Convention Center. Governor Godswill Akpabio started the construction of our own 10,000 seats Convention Center, but Udom Emmanuel killed the must have vision. Instead, Udom Emmanuel fantasizes about an International Worship Center that he cannot build.

Uyo couldn't handle the tourism upswing as visitors surged into town. So, then Gov. Akpabio constructed and completed a landmark hotel in Ikot Ekpene - the Four Points Sheraton Hotel (see attached pictures). Again, Udom Emmanuel collected the keys and buried them in pettiness; he killed the landmark vision.

In all these four miserable years with Udom Emmanuel as governor, Akwa Ibomites are being shortchanged in thousands of tourism sector jobs while revenue that could have been internally generated is lost forever.

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Lack of continuity and maintenance culture is the bane of our development in this our current system.. Many resources have been wasted or lost due to political differences and other unreasonable factors. Akpabio (hate or love him for his political choice) really did a great job to bring akwaibom to the limelight. I don't know much about udom's government since I left Uyo but he should not allow his predecessors infrastructures to rot away because the poor are those to suffer for it.

The writer is a criminal. What medical tourism, athe hospital Akpabio leased equipment for 1bn to commission? The hospital that charges the most exorbitant rates in the state?

Why did he not show us the full pix of the 4 points hotel at Ikot Ekpene? Why was it not completed? Who got what? A money stealing project. Akpabio didnt do well aside from. Build roads and steal monies.

Udom hasnt done so much but it is better he won than Nsima Ekere who was planning to use boys to cause mayhem...

Nonsense post.