Henix:


But Tinapa was meant to boost tourism, which would have beef up the IGR of the state. Don't u think the blame is that of the successive administrations who allowed it to fail?

No, Tinapa failed because Duke refused to solicit the support of the FG at that time to grant necessary licenses and permits to set up the port. There are other things involved that the state alone could not bear alone to set up the port, off course Lagos too didn't want competition.
Duke failed to do the Abuja politicking needed to get something like that running.

Agbegbaorogboye:

This is highly false. Tinapa did not throw the state into debt or make it bankrupt.
It's the successors that failed to properly develop the tourism potential of CRS like he did. Imoke even tried. Ayade has been an abysmal failure.

Where did the state get funds to do the Tinapa, through state allocations? No !borrowing.

Iampromoted:

True talk. That's why any governor after Duke can hardly perform. Cross Rivers State is one of the most indebted states in Nigeria as at today, due to Donald Duke.

Anyone who was in cross river at that time knows it, it was a good idea, but it needed collaboration from neighboring states and the FG as it was a big project.
With Goodluck in power at that time, maybe it could have worked.

quentin06:


Where did the state get funds to do the Tinapa, through state allocations? No !borrowing.

Borrowing of course. And private partnership too. But it was not as bad as you painted it. Tinapa is a productive venture and there is nothing wrong in borrowing for a productive venture even for an individual. As I pointed out, CRS is not in top five of indebted states in Nigeria and is certainly not insolvent. It was well run by Duke. Compare what he did with the loan with what a Tinubu did for example with loans he took for Lagos state. Duke has verifiable achievements while Tinubu's boys hide under "legacy" to deflect from their Oga's theft of Lagos resources

quentin06:


No, Tinapa failed because Duke refused to solicit the support of the FG at that time to grant necessary licenses and permits to set up the port. There are other things involved that the state alone could not bear alone to set up the port, off course Lagos too didn't want competition.
Duke failed to do the Abuja politicking needed to get something like that running.

Port? Is Tinapa a port? I thought it was a tourist resort and free trade zone.

Agbegbaorogboye:


Port? Is Tinapa a port? I thought it was a tourist resort and free trade zone.

A Port was included in the plan, where do the goods in a free trade zone come from? A port offcourse, without a functional port there can be no Tinapa, basic economics.

Agbegbaorogboye:


Borrowing of course. And private partnership too. But it was not as bad as you painted it. Tinapa is a productive venture and there is nothing wrong in borrowing for a productive venture even for an individual. As I pointed out, CRS is not in top five of indebted states in Nigeria and is certainly not insolvent. It was well run by Duke. Compare what he did with the loan with what a Tinubu did for example with loans he took for Lagos state. Duke has verifiable achievements while Tinubu's boys hide under "legacy" to deflect from their Oga's theft of Lagos resources

Have you been to CRS lately? Please go there and tell me what you think?

Sorry to say. Crossriverians are very funny.
They let this man use them a lot.

quentin06:


A Port was included in the plan, where do the goods in a free trade zone come from? A port offcourse, without a functional port there can be no Tinapa, basic economics.

Where did you get that from? There are free trade zones in Adamawa, Kaduna and Kano. Which ports are in those states? A free trade zone is an economic zone not a port. You're mixing Calabar port and free zone with Tinapa resort and free zone

quentin06:


Have you been to CRS lately? Please go there and tell me what you think?

CRS is as it is now due to the quantum foolishness of the present gov. It was not like that when Duke was there. Duke started Calabar Carnival which quickly became an international event with tourists from different countries attending. You can't blame Duke for Olimpotic incompetence of Ayade

Agbegbaorogboye:


CRS is as it is now due to the quantum foolishness of the present gov. It was not like that when Duke was there. Duke started Calabar Carnival which quickly became an international event with tourists from different countries attending. You can't blame Duke for Olimpotic incompetence of Ayade

Not blaming him really, Ayade is by far the worst govnor yet.

quentin06:


Not blaming him really, Ayade is by far the worst govnor yet.

Ok

Agbegbaorogboye:

What fact is this based on? Cross Rivers State is not top five among most indebted states in Nigeria. And was definitely not bankrupt when Duke left office

Check Cross Rivers State debt profile and inflows. Then you'll know that they are in a big mess.

Lagos for instance comes first in states debt profile. But the good thing is that Lagos income is staggering. In fact Lagos can do without the revenue from Abuja.

Iampromoted:

Check Cross Rivers State debt profile and inflows. Then you'll know that they are in a big mess.

Lagos for instance comes first in states debt profile. But the good thing is that Lagos income is staggering. In fact Lagos can do without the revenue from Abuja.

In terms of debt to revenue ratio, Lagos is even worse than Cross Rivers.
Cross Rivers faac allocation dropped when it was removed from oil producing state by virtue of its oil well ceded to Akwa Ibom.

Agbegbaorogboye:


Where did you get that from? There are free trade zones in Adamawa, Kaduna and Kano. Which ports are in those states? A free trade zone is an economic zone not a port. You're mixing Calabar port and free zone with Tinapa resort and free zone

The free trade zones in kano, kd and Adamawa are just political, they don't have economic value to their localities. They re just set up to legalize smuggling and evade custom duties. They re glorified pantekas.

quentin06:


The free trade zones in kano, kd and Adamawa are just political, they don't have economic value to their localities. They re just set up to legalize smuggling and evade custom duties. They re glorified pantekas.

Hope you know a notherner can also advance same arguments against ftz in the south