₦airaland Forum

cstr1001:
Which second Niger bridge is buhari doing?

Are you high?

The same one trickster Jonathan promised and failed to deliver just like the Niger Republic rail.

cstr1001:
So he copied Jonathan idea now, right?

One wonders why he always only copies Jonathan ideas for the north. He does not copy his ideas for the east or the south.

Jonathan wasted his time coming up witg bright ideas he didn't plan on implementing. Even the Seco d Niger Bridge copy cat buhari doing.

https://i66.tinypic.com/v49rbq.jpg

These herdsmen have no business in state. They should ranch or leave.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari as tension continued to rise in his state over the New Year Day attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The attack left scores of villagers dead in two local government areas of the state.

Mr. Ortom spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting. Excerpts from the interview.

On his mission to the State House

I had earlier briefed Mr. President when this incident took place on the first of January. After staying back on the ground to do the needful to ensure that we restore normalcy, I said it was important for me to come personally and brief him and that has been done.

Already, because of the communications we have been having when these incidents started, actions have been taken as directed by him (President Buhari). The movement of the DIG, the movement of the IG now to relocate to Benue State to ensure that this challenge is surmounted, was at the instance of Mr. President. Of course additional personnel of DSS and Police have been deployed and even the Army. We have additional personnel on ground now. We have adequately and fully given them the logistics support to ensure that our people are protected.

I had to brief him, he is also doing further investigation to know the next line of action. I believe that my request that the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who has earlier threatened… and I accused them directly, since June last year I have been writing to the leadership of security agencies, that these people are a threat to our collective interest and they must be dealt with. They must be arrested and prosecuted because we cannot allow impunity to continue to thrive. And, of course, threat and no action has resulted in this killing and I think that Mr. President will also do the needful to ensure something is done.

On allegations that he hired mercenaries from Republic of Ghana to fight herdsmen

I am not aware of this and I don’t even know about that one, I am hearing it for the first time. If someone has done that, it must be this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, that have done it.

On the allegations that he was blocked from seeing the President

I have never accused anyone of blocking me from seeing Mr. President. I’m seeing Mr. President. I told him when this incident occurred, I spoke to Mr. President on phone and followed it up. I know what it entails being a president. Even as governor most times I am not with my phone, people cannot access me the way it used to be, talk less of a president. I didn’t say that and I have not said it. The truth is that I have access to Mr. President anytime I want, I speak to him on phone and I see him personally. I requested to speak to him on phone that day because I couldn’t come to Abuja and he gave me the opportunity and today I’m here and I have seen him.

On suggestion that full blown military operations be set up in Benue like other places

Anything that can stop the killings of my people, I will go for it, I support it. Any policy or any directive, anything that will help stop the killing of these innocent people who are not armed, because this cannot continue. We know that the continuity of this will create greater challenges. I don’t want it to continue. We are struggling with economic issues, we are struggling with political issues and we are struggling with several other issues in this country, security issues and all that, Benue State should not be part of this; there is no need for it.

On allegation that the anti-open grazing law in the state is at the roots of the crisis

The law on prohibition of Open Grazing and Establishment of Ranching was made out of the necessity to ensure that we have peace for herdsmen and farmers and that is what we have done. The law seeks to protect all and as I talk to you, except this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who are instigating people to fight and to kill us, there are Fulani men in Benue State as I talk to you doing their business.

On allegation by the Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN Chairman, Benue State chapter, Garos Gololo, that the killings were in retaliation for the theft of 1,000 cows by some people in the state

You know that man is a liar. Gololo is a liar, he is a wanted man in Benue State, we don’t even know where he is. He stays somewhere and makes allegations. The other time, he said 1,000 cattle drowned and the herdsman decided to commit suicide by jumping into the river. He has not come out to justify what he said.

On FG’s idea of setting up colonies to solve the problem

I am waiting to be briefed about what colonies means, I don’t understand it and until I understand it…But like I keep saying, for us, the way forward is ranching and up til this time, I am talking to you, the way forward is ranching because is global best practice. And it is not just practised in other parts of the world, on African soil in Swaziland, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, almost all African countries that rear cattle, they ranch. So why can’t we do the same thing here? For the colony thing I don’t know what colony is.

On how many ranches his administration has created

It is not for me to create ranches. I know that as a farmer, I have one in my farm. And there are several other people who have. The permits are available for people who want to ranch their cattle to access land and begin to ranch. So it is free for everybody and that is the right way to go.
And since we started the implementation (of the anti-open grazing law), there has been relative peace amongst farmers and herdsmen. They were doing well until this militia coming from this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore came and attacked us. And they are known, we know where they are. As I talk to you, they are in Tongua in Awe local government, that is where these people are camped and coming to attack people.

And it is taking a different dimension. Just yesterday (Monday) in Logo local government, mobile policemen that were deployed to Logo to keep vigil to protect the people and the land, these militia came, exchanged fire with them, caught two of them and slaughtered them like goats. Mobile policemen! They shot another one, macheted him and left him in the pool of his blood, but luckily, he did not die. We have taken him to the hospital, we are treating him. The other one that was declared missing was found today (Tuesday).

So when it gets to the level of militia killing security men who are armed and are trained to protect lives and property, is it not taking a dangerous dimension? Who is now safe?

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/254941-interview-benue-attacks-gov-ortom-rejects-creation-cattle-colonies.html

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Bauchi State Government has signed a $1 billion memorandum of strategic cooperation on investment potential relating to agriculture, solid minerals and tourism as well as another MoU on the establishment of 100MW solar power project with Chinese investors.

The state Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, while signing the MOU at the Government House in Bauchi wednesday said China is “easily the most viable and reliable friend Nigeria has,” adding that President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the same sentiment about China.

He said the two memoranda of strategic cooperation on investment potential was signed by the state government with the China-Africa International Cooperation Economic Preparatory Committee.

While thanking the Chinese investors for the giant strides, the state governor said with the signing of the memoranda, history is being made in the state, pointing out that “with the saturation of businesses in Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt, the next destination to look for business opportunities is Bauchi.”

He explained that “Bauchi State is the right destination for investors with the unprecedented endowment of mineral resources,” assuring them that Bauchi is committed to the full implementation of the two memoranda.

The team under the China- Africa International Cooperation Economic Preparatory Committee would bring economic investments to Bauchi state to create a better future for the state.

The Chinese Team Leader, Mr. Liang, said the team was in Bauchi in continuation of a memorandum of understanding on investments in Nigeria signed in China by President Buhari and Chinese leaders, stressing that it is to cooperate with government to develop Bauchi into “the fastest growing state in Nigeria,” with the cooperation.

Liang said the team is in the state to invest in power, agriculture, mining, education and tourism “to improve the lives of the people of the state” and sought the support of the people of state in the execution of the projects.

The Nigerian team leader, Captain Mohammed Joji, explained that the team, which is set to invest $20 billion in Nigeria, is devoting $1 billion to Bauchi State.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the Chinese investors would provide 70 percent of the resources, while the state government provides the remaining 30 percent, the statement added.

Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/12/21/bauchi-signs-1bn-investments-deal-with-china/

gocac:
i agree bro.... i personally can not understand what happened to goodluck.
Nigerians should learn from Goodlucks misfortune.
Dont ever in your life try to pacify or try to please anybody who dislike you, thinking they would like you.
You will simply end up like gej!

He was romancing with the north and thinking he would be liked.

He must of wanted to vacation I'm Niger Republic or sneak in illegals like second article claimed about Buhari.

HungerBAD:
Blue3k2 respect yourself.

It is too early to start lying.

Wait until the afternoon.

You see the dates Buhari just a silly copy cat. It's ok he has time to surprise nation with an original idea of his own before 2019.

https://i67.tinypic.com/309tu1c.jpg

Buhari just changed route to throw everyone off. He only following Jonathan's good lead like with the kaduna and Abuja rail line.

docadams:
Bakassi seaport. Never heard of that.Ports everywhere, very few funtional In an article from Punch on Tinapa you posted a few days ago, the absence of a deep seaport was listed as one of the challenges See below

So, until the Calabar Sea is dredged and the port is put to use, independent of other administrative issues, Tinapa might continue to depreciate without meaningful impact.

So will Tinapa benefit from it?

I will guess yes.

docadams:
Blue3k2 come o, will this project impact positively on Tinapa when completed? I don't have any clue as regards the nearness of the two projects

I would say yes. Tinapa would benefit if customs doesn't interfere. If the coastal rail is there more people can travel to cross river more easily. Cross River building their own deep seaport based on what I read it should be more expensive than this one since it would need to be dredged.

Tinapa is complete. Were you talking Bakassi seaport.

This port is well thought out compared to the others. Most other states just thinking of capturing inport market. The industrial city along with the free trade zones being planned in state will make this place hub for export. The FG government already has plan for OGFTZ for ibakka and OGFTZ in talks for liberty free trade zone in Ikot Abasi.

The accompanying infrastructure in terms of power and transport. Upgrading assets like Ibom Power plant and encourage more power projects in state are need. The state government is doing part building super highway and upgrading airport. The federal government should follow through on coastal rail line.

The only thing I don't like about alk this is the naval security. I think Akwa Ibom should buy and donate land to the Navy so the can build a base in the state. Most of the piracy nonsense happens in the east half. If you stay ready you don't have to get ready.

Daboomb:
Why is it that it is ONLY MONEY that can ever heal your bitter wounds?
Everything from that red soil is ALWAYS about Money! Money, more money and even more Money!

What about "sincere apology"?
What about "sincere show of love"
What about true friendship and openess?
What about treating everybody with equality and respect?
What about asking for more infrastructure/developments like the 2nd Niger Bridge, more Fed. Hospitals, e.t.c

Ofcourse, we all know our blodders are FOR SALE...Egoobudieke.

oya, come collect the money, make we see now.

What a bunch nonsense. A court hardly ever orders an apology. They won't bother with those vague platitude your waxing poetic over like love, friendship, openness. Save that sappy diatribe for the hallmark cards. You can't get criminal charges against the country or bring back the individuals who died so money next best thing.

Nobody going go sue for infrastructure since these issues are debated in NASS. What power does ECOWAS court have in that area. This was rant only a mentally challenged bum could cosign.

rottennaija:
Make I book space

Lol this thread is dead. People find it much more interesting to argue about whether Yoruba are killing ports. I'd be shocked if this get 500 views.

The update boring but better than nothing. Just to save yall some time. Akwa Ibom looking for investors for the funding. The port should be ready 2021. Any questions you want to know email them. They will respond.

Most of the info you probably knew already.

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Akwa Ibom State Government have reached a critical milestone in the implementation of the Ibom Deep Seaport (IDSP) project. The IDSP is arguably one of the most promising Public Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure initiatives in Africa because of the unique/unparalleled investment opportunities it offers international seaport developers/operators/investors as well as its potential for driving inclusive economic growth in Nigeria and the West and Central African sub-region.

Strategically located in the South East of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (a leading oil and gas producing state in Nigeria), the approximate coordinates of the IDSP scaled from the British Admiralty Chart No. 1387 are Latitude 4° 32’ 35’’ N; Longitude 8° 14’ 7’’ E and UTM coordinates 415168 m E; 502,199 m N (UTM Zone 32N). The 2,565 hectares greenfield port area is designed for New Panamax Class vessels with channel (18.24m); turning basin and berth depth (16.72m) and quay length of about 7.5 km. When fully developed, the container terminals will be able to accommodate up to 13 New Panamax Class container vessels and 2 very large feeder vessels.

The IDSP is positioned to offer a value proposition superior to other seaports in the region. Available data indicates that the various seaports currently serving the West and Central African sub-region are reaching saturation and the need for viable alternatives has become critical for major shipping lines sailing these routes. With limited land to expand the existing seaports in Lagos and the inhibiting conditions against the development or expansion of other ports in neighbouring countries, the Ibom Deep Seaport offers an ultra-modern deep seaport with modern cargo handling equipment, facilities and systems that can address the capacity challenges constraining other seaports across the region. The greenfield site has substantial land available for future expansion.

Due to its proximity to target markets in West and Central Africa, neighbouring hinterland countries and major shipping lines calling West/Central Africa, large gateway market size to attract direct vessel services and sizeable transhipment cargo hinterland for feeder shipping network connection, as well as its capacity to handle post and New Panamax vessels at its specialized terminals, the IDSP is in an enviable position to emerge as the first major transhipment hub for the region. The transhipment container market for the IDSP is estimated to grow from about 1.2 million TEUs in 2021 to about 4 million TEUs in 2040.

Another defining feature of the IDSP is its location within the Ibom Industrial City - a designated Free Trade Zone replete with fiscal incentives. The Free Trade Zone status ensures that operations and investors in the Deep Seaport enjoy special regulatory/fiscal incentive regimes (including tax waivers and ease of repatriation of capital/investment proceeds) that enhance competitiveness and allow for cost saving with corresponding opportunities for investors to maximize returns on their investments. The project will optimize the synergies of the other businesses to be situated within the Industrial City that is being developed in parallel (such as agriculture, oil and gas, petrochemicals, marine-related industries, auto assembly plants, power plants, as well as real estate developments), and existing power plant and the industrial development at Ikot Abasi. It is within close proximity to Eket and Oron, among the largest urban developments in the State and oil and gas assets thereby creating an enabling environment for unlocking the full long-term potential of the investments in the IDSP for all stakeholders. The existing naval facilities in the area addresses security concerns.

The IDSP will leverage on and benefit from the various support/related infrastructure projects being implemented by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Akwa Ibom State Government for the movement of goods within and outside the country from the Seaport. The Project site is strategically located and accessible through major existing and planned transport infrastructure such as airport, railway lines and Federal and State road network. The ongoing support/related infrastructure projects such as major road network improvement/construction, the proposed Lagos-Port Harcourt-Aba-Uyo-Calabar railway line, and the expansion of the Akwa Ibom International Airport will enhance access to market.

The procurement process for the IDSP Project is scheduled to commence in January 2018 with the advertisement of the Request for Qualification (RFQ) from reputable private sector port developer/operators for the development of the Deep Seaport in partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Global Maritime and Port Services Pte Ltd (GMAPS) of Singapore is the Transaction Advisor for this opportunity. PwC, Nigeria, is the Project Manager for the IDSP project.

For more information, visit the official website for the IDSP: http://idsp.ak.gov.ng or http://idsp.gmaritime.com.

For media queries, please contact:

Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro, Chairperson, Akwa Ibom Technical Committee at mfon@idsp.ak.gov.ng, or

Captain James Fong, CEO, Global Maritime and Port Services at idsp@gmaritime.com.

Source: http://idsp.ak.gov.ng/ibom-deep-sea-port-press-release.php

Image source

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—Victims of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war, yesterday, said the Federal Government had yet to pay them, more than two months after it agreed to release N88 billion for their compensation.

The government had in an agreement it entered before the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, on October 30, 2017, said part of the fund would be used for the completion of demining and destruction of abandoned explosives within the South-East, South-South and North Central regions of the country.

Specifically, the Federal Government had in the terms of agreement before the regional court, stressed that while N50billion compensation would be paid to “true victims” of the civil war that occurred between 1967 and 1970. It also said N38 billion would be paid to contractors for total and complete demining and destruction of abandoned bombs and landmines within the regions.

The decision followed a suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/06/12, which was filed before the ECOWAS Court on May 2, 2012, by one Vincent Agu and 19 others against the Federal Government and five others.

A statement the group sent to our correspondent through their leaders, Egobudike  Monday  Ogbowu and Ndu Pedro, read: “On behalf of BIAFRA Civil War soldiers from Rivers state who were granted pardon and were promised to be paid off by the President Mohammadu Buhari-led government to permanently end the case in ECOWAS Court, we want to state that we have not heard or received anything.

“Federal Government had as part of the terms of agreement, promised to effect the payment through Chukwukadibia & Co and Deminers Concept  Nigeria Ltd, but up till now we have not gotten gotten anything and it is making us to wonder if the Federal Government and Chukwukadibia & Co and Deminers Concept Nigeria Ltd are playing politics with it?

“If they are not playing politics with us, we urge the Federal Government to come out open and tell us the situation of things and the reason behind the delay in the payment.”

The government opted for an out-of-court- settlement of the matter after four years negotiation period.

According to the agreement document which the ECOWAS court adopted as its consent judgment, two firms, RSB Holdings Nigeria Limited and Deminers Concept Nigeria Limited, were said to have been contracted in 2009 to carry out demining exercise in the war affected areas.

The government told the court that after an exercise that was conducted by medical experts that were employed by the two contractors to screen and identify true victims of the war, “All the parties to this suit acknowledge that 685 persons were selected and classified as survivors while 493 of them were confirmed as victims of either landmines or other dangerous military ordnance including locally fabricated weapons, hence entitled to compesation including their families and communities.”

“Whereas the parties also acknowledged that a total of over 17, 000 bombs were recovered and destroyed by the 4th and 5th Respondents (the contractors), while a total of 1, 317 are still in the stockpile located at the Mine Action Center, Owerri, Imo State, large quantity of live bombs still litter the Applicant’s communities”.

States listed to benefit from the deal were Anambra, Imo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Ebonyi, Cross River, Abia, Enugu and Benue.

However, over two months after the terms of settlement was entered by the ECOWAS court, a group of Biafra war veterans from Rivers State, told Vanguard  yesterday that they had not heard nor received anything from the government.

The government had before the ECOWAS Court, said it would pay the compensation  within 45 days  from the day the consent judgment was entered in the matter.

Meantime, effort to get reaction of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, proved abortive as calls placed to his telephone line were not answered as at press time.

The plaintiffs had in the suit they filed for themselves and as representatives of victims of the Nigerian civil war, including all the 493 victims pre-enumerated by the Ministry of Defence, demanded N100m as compensatory and general damages.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/n88bn-compensation-fg-yet-pay-us-biafra-war-victims/

docadams:
@OP , if I recollect very well one of the major complaint of customers was that prices of goods at Tinapia wasn't different from and sometimes higher than similar ones in the open market. There were many problems right from the outset which were left unattended. Now that the problems have become fossilized how can they be solved. Being a South Southerner, my wish is for Tinapa not to die but then we are in trying times.

There's no magic bullet solution. The only thing I would recommend state to do is make sure the roads leading tinapa are good/have monorail service to go from calabar to tinapa. They can try and get a few non productive assets off their books and sell private sector since they are looking to work with AMCON anyway. The last bit if stuff would fall under federal government control.

They need to get to bottom of this. Today criminals are taking things out tomorrow they'll put things in.

Nigeria’s status in global aviation may be downgraded if it is confirmed that bandits access the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and burgle taxiing airplanes, and the government is doing little to permanently stop the breach. First, the U.S. Transport Security Administration will review its certification of the airport, which if withdrawn would make it unsafe for Delta Air Lines to fly to the Lagos airport. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will review its audit of the Nigeria’s aviation sector. If the FAA certification is withdrawn, Nigeria would lose Category 1 Safety Status, which means no U.S. airline would fly to Nigeria and Nigerian airlines would not be allowed to fly to the U.S.

Besides, the International Civil Aviation Organisation would review Nigeria’s safety and security status and may downgrade the country, too.

Doubt

For now, however, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which is in charge of the 22 airports in the country owned by the federal government, has expressed doubt about the occurrence of the reported thefts. FAAN said it had set a committee to investigate whether the incidents actually happened.

In early December 2017, there were reports that a private jet was attacked on the runway18R of the airport by unknown bandits when taxiing to the hangar of Evergreen Apple Nigeria (EAN) Ltd. The jet was said to be arriving from Istanbul between 2110 and 2130hrs after landing in Lagos.

The pilot of the flight was Captain Emma Heering, who reportedly discovered that the rear door of the aircraft was opened while taxiing to the hangar of EAN.

After this first incident, many in the industry, including operators of the private terminals, doubted whether such incident actually happened. An operator of the major private terminal facility told THISDAY that he doubted the possibility of such theft and noted that when the aircraft landed, the engine was still running and it was still moving fast on ground. At that point, he said it would be very unlikely that anyone could burgle the aircraft on the taxiway.  The operator queried the motivation of the pilot, who claimed that the aircraft was burgled. He concluded that, possibly, the pilot might be trying to make insurance claims, insisting, however, that the government must investigate the report.

Second Incident

About two weeks later, another theft was reported on the airport’s runway, and this time, it involved two known Nigerian musicians, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. A private jet conveying the two artists, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun aka Wizkid and Tiwa Savage, from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, was allegedly robbed while taxiing on the runway. Sources at the airport informed THISDAY that the aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 605 jet with registration number T7-A00, arrived Lagos about 8:33pm on December 26 and was slowly taxiing to the arrival hangar when the cargo compartment was burgled. Reports said the jet had slowed to allow an Ethiopia Airlines cargo plane with registration number ET-ARH to push back for takeoff.

“The pilot of the business jet, Captain Cloud Cote, noticed the cargo door had been opened by burglars and promptly notified the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria security. But the burglars had disappeared before FAAN officials could make it to where the attack took place,” a source said.

It was reported that upon arrival, the pilot discovered that two of the music artists’ bags had been stolen by the airport bandits.

Denial

FAAN management, in reaction, issued a statement signed by its spokesman, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, denying the possibility of such theft and said that it was not possible for anyone to burgle an aircraft in motion. It said because aircraft are highly technical machines, it was practically impossible for anyone without the requisite training and competence to operate or tamper with the baggage compartment.

“It would be recalled that two incidents of alleged poaching were recently reported, the latest being that which occurred on a chartered flight from Uyo to Lagos on December 26, 2017,” FAAN said in the statement.

 Similar Incidents

But the doubt as to whether the thefts happened was deflated by past experiences by pilots who operated through the Lagos airport. A seasoned pilot, aeronautical engineer, and senior official of one of the aviation agencies, who preferred anonymity, confirmed to THISDAY that similar incidents had happened to him in the aircraft he operated as he was about to fly from Lagos to Abuja some years ago.

Also the CEO of Aero Contractors and seasoned pilot, Captain Ado Sanusi, who spoke to THISDAY in his personal capacity said so many thefts were recorded in the 1990s, which prompted the federal government then to issue a shoot on sight order. The order helped to end the nefarious activity. Sanusi said at that time Lagos airport was categorised as one of the most dangerous airports in the world and the U.S. notified its citizens that travelling to Lagos was dangerous and they might lose their belongings on such trips.

According to Sanusi, “The problem is that we forget a lot in this country. This was happening regularly in the 90s. There were a lot of times in the international runway at Lagos airport when airplanes were opened and bags were thrown out from the luggage hull. This was in the 90s. I could remember Air Gabon. That was a very classical case. The cargo compartment was opened and bags were thrown out.

“I will tell you my personal experience, still in the 1990s. I was a flight engineer on a Kabo flight, going from Lagos to Kano. It was the last flight going around 7pm. During that time, because of our poor banking system then, people carried money in bags. We usually brought people from the North-east part of the country, Maiduguri, to Lagos. They came and changed money in the morning so we carried them back. So there were bags of money in the cargo compartment. That time, hoodlums will stay at the end of the runway; when the airplane taxied and while they waited for takeoff clearance, they would open the cargo compartment and take the bags. This was happening in the 90s. I remember I had to go down one day to close the cargo compartment because somebody had opened it.”

 ‘Sabotage’

Despite the confirmations, some aviation insiders have continued to doubt the veracity of the claims of theft on the runways. They say the reports are an attempt to sabotage the federal government’s decision to certify Quits Aviation Nigeria as the only business jet terminal designated for Customs, Immigration and security processes, where every business jet on arrival or take off must go through for security checks.

A source told THISDAY, “The reports are aimed at tarnishing the image of the airport to mar business aviation services at the Lagos airport. We do not believe that people can steal from a moving aircraft and why is it that these reports started coming out after government accredited Quits Aviation as official business jet terminal?”

Threat

Sanusi told THISDAY that those who stole from taxiing airplanes were people familiar with the operational system of the airports and warned against indiscriminate issuance of On Duty Card by FAAN. He also said that the airports were very porous.

Sanusi stated, “You can secure your airport with criminals inside. You can secure your airport but you can give your ODC to criminals to have access to the airport. If this allegation is true, I appeal to the federal government not to take it lightly because this is a serious security breach. Today we learnt they are removing bags but tomorrow we don’t know what they will be putting into the aircraft. This will go a long way to destroy everything the federal government is fighting against.

“I don’t think we should sweep this case under the carpet. The international community will be looking up to what we have done or we are going to do. If we are saying that it is not possible for that to happen, they will know that we are talking rubbish. This is because they know that it is possible to do it. It has been done in other countries where taxiing airplanes’ cargo compartments were opened and drugs taken and thrown out before the airplanes got to Customs.”

For aviation security expert and CEO of Centurion Securities, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), the runway burglaries constitute an aviation/airport security breach, which should not involve the police. Ojikutu said the incidents should be investigated only by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, stressing that the police have no role in aviation security defence layers.

“The airport operators – FAAN – and the aircraft operator are not ready to expose their security lapses and negligence, hence, the denials both ways to cover it further. They are bringing in the police in a matter of aviation regulation violation, not civil offense violation,” Ojikutu said. 

Solution

Sanusi said the solution to the runway theft problem was a holistic review of FAAN’s ODC issuance procedure, noting that the agency must vet the ODC it issues to people.

Sanusi said, “They should have a very powerful control of ODC. They have to know the people they are giving the card. That is number one. Number two, they should have CCTV all over the airport. FAAN should have personnel on ground looking at all these things. That is the way it is done. They should be able to see the aircraft from everywhere and they should be ready with their strike team. The strike team can be directed to take action once the security system has been compromised.

“They should do shoot on sight and the whole thing will just stop. But now, more than half of the airport is not monitored. CCTV is now very cheap, so it can easily be procured. Three, there should be a comprehensive look at the procedure followed to allow people enter the airport. You have to know from where they access the airport. 

Some people are allowed to go to the tarmac and wander around and nobody checks such people because even with ODC there are still places people should not be allowed to enter. So we are looking at a holistic approach.”

Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/01/07/breaches-at-lagos-airport-runway-nigeria-risks-losing-safety-certifications/

deomelo:
Ok, after dredging nko? Don't you need large human traffic to patronize the place and make money?


Per Tinapa and Obudu, the average Nigerian should be able to get up and drive or take the rail from any corner of Nigeria and get there in not time to enjoy both places, shop an have a good time, but it's absolutely impossible to access both places if you don't live in the immediate vicinity.


The FG can sink money and keep sinking money on such non viable investments and even keep dredging forever, there's still not going to be any kind of success since both places need money and large human traffic which they can not get because Nigerians from other states can not access easily.

I should be able to access both facilities from Lagos in less than 2-3 hours and be back in Lagos before the end of the day, but this is absolutely impossible because we don't have good roads express or freeways. Just like the folks in the US drive to places like Disneyland and their other major attractions.

Only rich folks can afford to fly to Obudu to enjoy whatever they have over there.

Both places can not survive with patronage from the folks in that state or neighboring states, they need patronage from places like Lagos with deeper pockets and disposable shopping income but it is absolutely impossible to leave Lagos and end up spending days on death trap roads just to shop many states away?


My point is, until we get our road and transportation system right, such investments will continue to suffer.


This is why we urgently need the Lagos-Calabar coastal Road/Railway, but many folks from that region representing that same region in Abuja are against that project and even voted to slash the budget for that project for silly, dumb and demented political and tribal reasons.


The FG is the least of their worries

Higher foot traffic means more money generally. You point about moving to Lagos to calabar in 3hrs is wild unless you have top class high-speed train. Even USA those type of trips by road take 6hrs. The point of dredging is to reduce battle of going to other port. The place was succeeding until 2012 so the non viable argument is wrong.

I don't agree with only rich can go to Obudu. I was going to go but the roads sucked. The rooms in Obudu are not cheap like Las Vegas but not wildly expensive. I ended up going to Abuja instead.

I do agree on rail and road transport. Can you link me to them cutting funding for coastal rail? The last I checked Amaechi could find funding which is why it hasn't been done yet.

@red Your big point about interstate transport infrastructure is federal issue. I was in Akwa Ibom and highway was so messed up it took a day to get to cross river assuming the vehicle didn't get stuck in mud.

Yo mynd44 it's a different article don't close this thread. This one focused on state governments failure.

Deomelo

While giving credit to the vision of a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke to make the state the business and leisure hub of Nigeria, nay West Africa, especially with regards to the conceptualization of the Tinapa project, it must be pointed out from the onset that Tinapa was birthed without due diligence. A flagship project of such magnitude was conceived with little or no consideration for location, anchor tenants, access infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework and sustainability plan. A project with a cost outlay of about $600 million intended to divert traffic that constantly left the shores of Nigeria and even other West African countries, to places like Dubai, to Cross River State, was conceptualized without proper feasibility report. By law, a project of such magnitude was not supposed to be spearheaded by a state government. The supposed model in Dubai, the United Arabs Emirate from which Tinapa is derived is owned by that country, not a province or state government.  At least, the Cross River State government ought to have gone into partnership with the federal government in the Tinapa project. But this was not to be.

The Tinapa case is even more beguiling than it appears to the general public due largely to media hype. We must admit that Tinapa was built without anchor tenants. International best practice demands that you secure anchor tenants even before the foundation is laid. Before you bring a tenant like Walmart, for instance, to Tinapa, you ought to have had an agreement or even a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them. If you had wanted Walmart to come, you would not have opened your door to T-mart in the first place. If there was need to stop Walmart, then T-mart would not have been given opportunity. And how well did T-mart do in Tinapa? From investigations, it was T-mart that drowned Tinapa. Walmart and other retailers discovered that Tinapa was not suitably located and did not have any clear operating or regulatory framework; they realized that the Duke administration didn’t take into consideration some critical elements from the onset. It was touted as Public Private Partnership project, but now, everybody knows that the burden of Tinapa is being borne by the Cross River State government which was made to pay a debt of N1billion monthly inclusive of another N200million maintenance cost with literarily no inflow.

From our findings, it was the succeeding administration which got the operating licence for Tinapa in 2008/2009, when the Customs operating regulations were approved. The simple truth is that Duke touted Tinapa as Nigeria’s Dubai when, in fact, as a governor, he could not in any way change or amend the constitution or the fiscal policies of the federal government. All Duke did was put massive warehouses and line shops in place at the expense of the taxpayers. Secondly, when Tinapa was commissioned, the hotel, water park and studio were not ready. One of the first things the succeeding administration did was to get a loan of N3billion specifically to complete those outstanding projects in Tinapa. In fact, the hotel became operational during Imoke’s tenure. Imoke even introduced a new conference facility in Tinapa, even as he introduced a children amusement arcade all in the hope of bringing in some traffic to the complex. Imoke made offers to companies like Silverbird to take over the studio but Silverbird refused. Imoke made offers to Shoprite, and all of them said Tinapa was wrongly located; that Calabar did not have what it takes to bring business to Tinapa. Indeed, the failure of Tinapa is not due to lack of effort. Very clear effort was made by the Imoke administration including the completion of the studio and signing of an agreement with Ebony Life TV, which today is operating from Tinapa.

Tinapa was without electricity. The Imoke administration ensured that power supply was brought there, and everything else at the cost of billions of naira. But someone would have Nigerians believe that Imoke ruined Duke’s efforts. This is because Imoke is media shy and does not talk. Were it not for the fundamental failure inherent in the structure of Tinapa, Imoke’s effort would have been enough to jumpstart the project. It was Imoke who approached AMCON and actually signed the AMCON agreement. It was the Imoke administration that went through the whole arrangement of inviting AMCON, sitting down with them, negotiating the agreement. Imoke’s greatest mistake was that in an attempt to shield his friend and predecessor from public odium and disgrace, he tried to deodorize the white elephant project called Tinapa which Duke used to attract headlines. Yet, unfortunately, while Imoke was in office as governor, Duke tried to stop AMCON from concluding the transaction through subterfuge and blackmail. Duke is now trying to conclude it with the new governor, Ben Ayade.

Duke has made reference to Imoke not wanting his projects. By the way, what business has a state government operating a commercial entity? Duke ended up making the state to bleed from a project that was not well designed. Even when KPMG, the consultant, was asked how come they were a consultant to such a white elephant project, they said that what was developed was not what was recommended. The truth of the matter is that all effort was put in, resources mobilized to make Tinapa become operational. That the studio is working, the water park, the children amusement arcade functional and the Tinapa Hotel operational, is to the credit of the Imoke administration. Again, that nothing has ever stopped anybody from coming to do business at Tinapa was because the Imoke administration offered rent-free accommodation to tenants at Tinapa just to attract traffic to the complex. But a number of things hampered the operationability of Tinapa. It was developed as a Free Trade Zone which is on the exclusive legislative list by a state government. Even the regulation was got by Imoke. Duke as a governor built the infrastructure of Tinapa without operating guidelines; without any regulations and without any tenants.

It also behoves on Nigerians to know that according to the plan, the Calabar channels were supposed to be dredged but was outside the control of the state government; the federal highway was supposed to be dualized and the airport was supposed to be expanded. These were also not at the control of the state government. So, all the critical elements that would have been put together to give Tinapa a small chance to grow were outside the control of the state government. Now, how would a governor undertake a project in which he has no control over its critical success factors with such huge amount of taxpayers’ funds? All the success factors of the project were outside the control of the governor and government. He (Duke) should admit that the Tinapa project, from inception had failed. If there was any government that made effort to advance Duke’s legacies, it was the Imoke administration.

Again, from findings, the Monorail was the last project Duke abandoned. But, today, in spite of the lean resources at the disposal of the Imoke administration, though some of the monorail parts had been ordered, Imoke deployed those parts and brought in the monorail itself, to link Tinapa and the City of Calabar across the Tinapa Lake. There are also other projects which Duke did not complete that Imoke completed. One of such is the Lemna Road. He did not complete it; Imoke finished it. The Tinapa Road was a one-carriage way. Imoke dualized it. In fact, Duke started the Calabar Carnival. But Imoke took it to the global annual calendar. Whereas Duke attended only two editions of the Carnival, Imoke attended eight and brought it to the living rooms of viewers across the world. The same goes for the Obudu Mountain Race. The lesson of the failure of Tinapa is a hard lesson in development: that no government should ever risk the taxpayers money in venturing into any business without due diligence. A government which goes into any project without the control over the necessary fiscal policies and other critical success factors is bound to regret its action while leaving the impact of the failure on the tax payers. In fact, governments have no business being in business.

 

• Michael, an economic analyst, wrote in from Lagos.

Source: http://thenationonlineng.net/lessons-from-tinapa/amp/

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deomelo:
This project died even before construction started simply because the folks behind the project did not do the basics, they did not dot their I's and T's, they did not secure the necessary approvals, guarantees and licenses necessary for smooth operations.


Why are they talking about approvals and bureaucratic details years after commissioning? Why not secure everything you need before investing your money especially in a very corrupt and incompetent environment like Nigeria.

We create our own problems and start pilling blames and demands on the FG for bailout and remedies @ failure.

I agree the state messed up but the federal government has it's role to play. The drefging should have been done anyway. The lack legal and regulatory framework crazy. That's the focus on the next article I'm posting.

According to this article the project was able to get temporary high 2009-2012 but the issues in article set it.

Between 2009 and 2012 two out of the four emporiums were fully occupied with wholesale and retail businesses, while 42 out of the 53 shops were also put into good commercial use.

But the boom in business was short-lived as it slowly snowballed into its current state. Many business owners left the premises one after the other based on what they described as unfavourable government policies, high operating cost (including exhorbitant rent), unwholesome activities of the regulators and clash between the operators and regulators.

Anyway this article mainly focused on federal government's failures. I got another that looks at state governments that's more recent and much shorter. The project still has potential in my opinion though.

I do feel for those people who haven't be compensated for land. They need to sue get their money.

deomelo:
This is a private investment with active private funding so I really don't know what the FG can do to make this facility productive.


If you really think the FG should intervene, please explain to us in what way and what kind of FG assistance do you think is necessary.?

They already did in the article citing the main issue being federal regulations. The investors said the business climate was hostile because of customs. The last issue would be dredging most economist agree on.

EazyMoh:
Interesting, I only read halfway though.

Download text to speech app. That's what I use to get through these long articles. If you have android device use @voicealoud. If you use Apple try natural reader. There's also an app for Windows 10.

GavelSlam:
The question is what has happened over the years?
Or should we pretend some people did not stiffle/destroy it?

Dude stop being childish. We know it's the fault of previous administration. Now that APC is at the helm it's time to fix wrongs and develop. If the don't they're no different from the guys they replaced simple.

GavelSlam:
A Legacy of PDP destroyed by PDP.

Should the president do everything to revive it we would be reminded how it was the brainchild of PDP.

That's a dumb question. Yes you should revive it be sure activity there means revenue for the federal government and state. It would be dumb to stifle development for such a petty reason.

Mudiaga Affe and Tunde Ajaja

TINAPA’s gradual journey to the bottom

Tinapa was not in operation for the first two years after its inauguration due to inoperative guidelines and framework, and the delay was one that economists say could have dampened the enthusiasm of some would-be investors. But following the intervention of the then Managing Director of the Tinapa Free Zone and Resort, Chief Bassey Ndem, who initiated moves to make the set guidelines operational, the hub experienced a sudden boom.

Our correspondent could recall that the hub experienced good business activities between 2009 and 2012. In fact, in 2009, big names such as Shoprite, Wal-Mart and Woodworth, among others, secured spaces in the large facility. Between 2009 and 2012 two out of the four emporiums were fully occupied with wholesale and retail businesses, while 42 out of the 53 shops were also put into good commercial use.

But the boom in business was short-lived as it slowly snowballed into its current state. Many business owners left the premises one after the other based on what they described as unfavourable government policies, high operating cost (including exhorbitant rent), unwholesome activities of the regulators and clash between the operators and regulators.

A business owner in his mid-thirties who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said, “This place had been in existence since 2009 but business boomed around 2012 when Customs officials started disturbing customers. No matter what you buy, once it is above N30,000, you must pay duties when leaving. It became inconvenient for customers and many of them stopped coming.

“This made us to start having old stock and they would remain there until they expired, and so investors started pulling out because the influx of buyers dropped greatly. People even perceived goods in the premises as more expensive than what they would get outside.”

Meanwhile, a provision in the incentives and concession agreement as seen on Tinapa website, says “Persons who purchase goods up to a maximum of N50,000 or its equivalent within Tinapa Free Zone and Resort, in respect of which valid receipts from approved enterprises operating within the zone, have been issued, shall be entitled to import such goods into the Nigerian Customs Territory, duty-free and all customs and other licensing requirements that apply to goods imported into Nigeria Customs Territory from other countries shall not apply to such goods.”

Also, apart from the fact that the project is located at the outskirts, which could discourage willing customers, the refusal of the Federal Government to complete the dredging of the Calabar waterways to enable vessels bringing goods to access the site has also discouraged importation of goods.

While the port would have fast-tracked import and export from the zone, dredging of the sea is still facing slow progress due to hitches between contractors and the Nigerian Port Authorities. Thus, investors who would have shipped their goods could have opted out of their plans. The alternative for those who are resilient would be to make use of Lagos seaport (about 752km away) or the Onne Port in Rivers State which is about 215km away.

Findings however showed that trade zones are usually sited around sea ports to facilitate import and export and the absence of it can render the entire project inefficient.

An economist, who pleaded anonymity, told Saturday PUNCH, “Look at the Lagos Free Trade Zone under construction, a port is coming with it. Look at the Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone in Rivers State, the Onne port is there. So, until the Calabar Sea is dredged and the port is put to use, independent of other administrative issues, Tinapa might continue to depreciate without meaningful impact.

“Tinapa even has an advantage because it can import and retail its products, unlike the Calabar Free Trade Zone that is maily for manufacturing.”

With a projected three million visitors expected to carry out business activities in the facility yearly with about N100,000 projected income per person, it was estimated that about N300bn would be realised annually. But, sadly, this is far from reality. As of 2009, the facility attracted only about 500 visitors daily and between then and now, many businesses have closed down while patronage has reduced drastically.

Even though the project sought to exploit the existing demand for such services that make both locals and expatriates go abroad to seek alternative destinations, it has been largely unsuccessful. Thus, its first mover advantage is largely being defeated.

Meanwhile, some economists who spoke to Saturday PUNCH identified the uncompleted dredging, which has been on for over 10 years, and clash between Tinapa licensed operators and investors as challenges bedeviling the project.

A crumbling project begging for government rescue

Notably, one of the issues that led to the dwindling rate of activities in Tinapa is the disagreement between the Customs and Tinapa-licensed operators, who alleged that the Nigeria Customs Service introduced policies that were not favourable to investors, especially in the areas of duties payable on goods.

The former MD, Ndem, had said, “Apart from regulation, there was also the issue of getting those who were responsible for regulation to understand what a Free Trade Zone is and how they needed to support it. They created a micro-economic enclave that went against all the fiscal rules and policies that was originally set up. Duties are not charged on goods entering the zone, high duty rates are only being charged on those being taken out. So, if the regulators did not understand that, it becomes difficult.”

Findings showed that the disagreement between the NCS and Tinapa-licensed operators degenerated into argument and sponsored advertorials by both parties and while this was raging, some would-be shop owners halted their moves to secure shops in the facility due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the clash. It was gathered that the seizure of containers belonging to the investors by the Customs at the Onne Port made the matter worse.

Ndem said, “Customs seized about 75 containers that were meant for Tinapa at Port Harcourt and they wanted the investors to come and clear the containers in Port Harcourt, but we disagreed, saying that was not what the law said.

“Inviting them to come and clear their containers in Port Harcourt was against the ethics of having a FTZ. A FTZ is supposed to make trade smooth and easy and not being held up by bureaucracy. By making people go to other ports to clear their goods, you are subjecting them to the same bureaucracy and corruption they were running away from.”

The NCS however pointed out that it discovered cases of diversion and smuggling of prohibited items from the Free Trade Zone into its territory, hence it had to come up with stricter measures.

Following the altercation between the regulators and Tinapa operators, the surge in investment inflow to the zone started experiencing downturn as the rate of importation reduced drastically.

Implications of the neglect

At the inception of the project in 2007, the then Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tinapa Business Resort, Mr. Sam Anani, had said Tinapa would be a major diversification initiative as duties and other revenues from the hub would play a major role in boosting the revenue base of the state.

Anani had said, “The truth is Tinapa will make more money for Nigeria than what they are collecting at the ports of entry as far as duty is concerned. Tinapa is targeted at West and Central African markets. Similar goods that will arrive Kano or Lagos will be more expensive for Nigerians. So we believe that Nigerians will start driving and flying to Tinapa to buy products because all the products that you will find in Lagos, London, New York, among others, we are bringing them into Tinapa.”

But nine years down the line, the hub is still far from realising these objectives. As a project that came into being through loan and equity financing, one would have expected that it would start on a quick note and increase the tempo within a short while.

Apart from the dashed hopes and expectation, there is a huge revenue loss from the project in terms of tax and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product. There is also the case of lack of employment opportunities for the residents, displaced persons and professionals who could have put their skills into profitable use, among others.

With the dwindling revenue across the country, the host state, Cross River, would have got enough money to pay its workers’ salaries given that it would have generated some revenue that would augment the paltry allocation it receives from the Federal Government. Also, the Federal Government would have been enjoying a sustained stream of income from the project in form of tax and duties.

According to the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, who is also an economist, if the government had got it right, Tinapa would have brought a lot of development and investment to the state, South South zone and the country at large. He said the project would have brought a lot of foreign exchange through export, which would impact on the Nigerian economy.

He explained that the project would have been one of the building blocks to diversifying the economy because of the business and leisure combination; but that it turned out not to be the project that was conceived.

However, Yusuf blamed the decrepit state of the project on the fact that the critical policies and some other factors that should facilitate competitiveness, drive export, which is the whole idea of the zone, and drive the project to functionality and excellence, appear to be missing.

He said, “Even though the project was ambitious, it had not turned out to be the kind of project that was conceived. For example, the policy issues (conflict) between the Nigeria Customs Service and Tinapa operators, abuse by some operators who used the project as a transit for even items that were not allowed under our current trade laws and compromise by some regulators, were among the factors that really affected the project. It was a good dream but it didn’t turn out the way it should have.

“Thus, investors lost money. Some companies had to leave because there was no market, coupled with the incomplete dredging exercise that would open up the Calabar Port. I went there sometime ago and saw a supermarket where the clothes in the store looked terribly abandoned. People lost money, so they left.

“But the biggest loser is the state government, which still has a huge debt burden from the project. The concept of Tinapa was based on a number of assumptions, one of which was that the Customs would allow the place to function properly as a free zone. I’m not sure that happened, which also affected it.”

He, however, advised that there was a need for proper diagnosis to determine the critical variables that needed to be fixed to see whether the dream could still be realisable. “If it is something for which we could still mobilise investors, the feasibility can be examined. Another alternative is to see whether we can change the entire concept of the place into something else, like an institution.”

Residents’ lamentations

Apart from the traders that are disgruntled with the state of the project, indigenes of Adiabo, Tinapa’s host community, are also not happy with the way the project has turned out.

According to the Youth Secretary in the community, Mr. Francis Bassey, the TINAPA project brought great hopes that did not last long in the minds of the residents of the community. He said, “When the TINAPA project started, it brought great hopes but the tax regime introduced by regulators drove investors away.

“For us as a community, we see the project as a waste. We just look at it with regrets because we did not quite gain much from its establishment. For instance, the administration of former governor Donald Duke promised to compensate us with N50m for the land, but he never did till date.”

Another indigene of the quiet community, Mr. Okokon Mathew, said land owners regretted giving up their land for the project because they did not receive compensation. He lamented that none of the social facilities in Tinapa such as electricity or potable water scheme was extended to the community.

“We never benefitted anything from TINAPA as the host community, but there is nothing we can do,” he said.

They lamented that for a project that claimed farmlands and led to the loss of arable land, economic trees, pollution, deforestation and environmental degradation, there was nothing to show for it.

And, in spite of the ailing state of the hub, the interim Managing Director, TINAPA Free Zone and Resort, Mrs. Francisca Effiom, says the hub is still a destination choice for “foresighted” retailers and wholesalers.

All hope not lost

While the trade wing seems to be struggling to stay above a decrepit state, occasioned by the vacancy rate, the resort section seems to be recording fairer patronage.

For example, the Lakeside Hotel, which is three-star rated, is being fully utilised, coupled with the fact that the former management of the facility had raised the revenue base of the hotel from deficit to N100m per month. Also, the Water Park has continued to attract increased patronage by fun seekers and it is even more during festive periods.

In the bid to rescue the ailing hub, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had shown interest in revamping the facility, which was indebted to Union Bank Plc to the tune of over N20bn.

According to Ndem, AMCON has shown all interest to buy back the debt and invest some funds to revamp the facility but the plan has yet to be actualised. An official of AMCON who spoke to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity said the corporation would not respond to the matters concerning Tinapa for now.

Tinapa tourism, a wasting potential

It is worthy of note that there are countries across the world that survive on their earnings from tourism, an initiative that was part of Tinapa’s conception. While Nigeria depends on oil revenue, one that has fallen greatly in recent times, experts say tourism, among other sectors, would have been a good way to drive the economy at a critical time like now.

For example, in Mauritius, tourism is an essential component of the economy and an important source of its foreign exchange earnings. The Mauritian economy developed from a low-income economy to a middle-income economy, much of which was traceable to the expansion of the tourism sector. According to the Bank of Mauritius, the gross income from tourism in 2012 was about $584m coming from about one million tourists’ visits. And interestingly, most visitors to the country were from European countries.

While the unemployment rate in Nigeria continues to rise, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, tourism has been a major employer of labour in Egypt, contributing about 12 per cent to the country’s workforce and about $12.5bn revenue as well as contributing more than 11 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product and 14.4 per cent of foreign currency revenues.

Other countries that depend on tourism or derive a reasonable percentage of their income from tourism include Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Croatia, Lebanon, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Greece, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Luxembourg.

In the words of a tourism expert in the Cross River State, Tinapa was a great tourism project that never materialised. She lamented the declining traffic to the leisure centre, while blaming the failure of the project on the laxity of government.

She said, “Traffic has plummeted a whole lot. There is nothing wrong with Tinapa as a project, because it has potentials, but the brand, which is the Cross River State government, is leaving a lot of holes, which has led the project to where it is at the moment.

“Basically, there was a problem between former governor Donald Duke, who conceived the project, and his successor, Liyel Imoke. Given the impediments to the business arm, occasioned by incomplete dredging of the Calabar River and conflict between regulators and operators, more attention should have been given to the leisure arm, such that while we are waiting for dredging, let’s do entertainment which is a big industry on its own.”

Also, a tourism expert, Mr. John Offiong, said people should focus on the potentials of the investment and the efforts being made to make it work rather than see it as a failed project.

be optimistic about the project, saying the incumbent governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, had demonstrated commitment to the project by appointing his commissioner for finance as the new managing director of Tinapa, all in a bid to revamp the project.

He said people should “Even though some people complain that the site is far from the city centre, people would usually go to any length to have fun. For example, the Obudu Cattle Ranch is six hours away from Calabar, but people still go there. So, let’s look at the positive side,” he added.

Source:
http://punchng.com/tinapa-a-n60bn-investment-gone-moribund/amp/

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