Calabar airport, seaport problems stalled Tinapa revival — Ex-gov Imoke - Punch Newspapers

Former Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, has said the planned investment of between ₦26bn and ₦29bn by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to revive Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort failed because the infrastructure and regulatory conditions required to make the project viable remained unresolved. Imoke, who spoke in an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS, said Cross River State had conceded its interest in Tinapa to AMCON because the state could not provide the capital needed to revive the resort. “Regarding AMCON: Cross River State had a debt liability that was taking over 50% of the state’s revenues on Tinapa. Why did AMCON not succeed? The vision for AMCON was not that the state was not interested. “We had to concede our interest because AMCON could bring in capital. The plan for Tinapa with AMCON was investing another 26 to 29 billion Naira to get Tinapa functional. The state did not have those resources, so there was a negotiation between us and AMCON,” he said on Wednesday. According to the former governor, the proposed intervention could not resolve the resort’s problems because the fundamental conditions on which its success depended had not changed. “Why did AMCON not succeed in making those investments? Because the basic parameters never changed. The airport in Calabar is still as small as it was, the seaport in Calabar was never dredged, and the free trade zone status was not satisfactory to investors,” he explained. Imoke said the problem with Tinapa went beyond the buildings and facilities constructed at the resort, arguing that the wider commercial ecosystem required to support the project had not been established. The ex-gov said, “Let us start with the concept of Tinapa—it was badly conceived at the beginning. That is the reality. Tinapa was conceptualized as a free trade shopping destination, and it was built. But the commercial ecosystem for Tinapa to succeed—which should have been developed while construction was ongoing—was not happening and did not happen. “The most important thing was that we had these beautiful buildings inside the fence, but outside the fence, everything needed to make Tinapa work had not been addressed, including the regulatory environment. I do not know how Walmart would have functioned in Tinapa without addressing the commercial issues, not to speak of the economic issues.” Imoke said the project depended on facilities and policies that were largely outside the control of the state government, including port infrastructure, road access, air connectivity, tax incentives and free trade zone regulations. “The great challenge was that as a state government, we had no control over the dependencies required for Tinapa to succeed. “Why do I say badly conceived? For Tinapa to work, beyond the free trade zone status, you needed regulations that the international community would be satisfied with, extensive tax incentives, road infrastructure for access, and dredged ports. All of these were outside the control of Cross River State,” he said. He said the Federal Government should have made the necessary commitments while Tinapa was under construction rather than leaving the state with a major facility without the infrastructure needed to support its commercial objectives. 2027: C’River PDP candidate denies criminal record allegation Police pay families of deceased officers in Cross River N13.7m insurance Police warn against attack on officers performing lawful duties in C’Rivers “In the three years Tinapa was under construction, it would have made more sense if the Federal Government had made these commitments, rather than commissioning Tinapa politically as an infrastructure—beautiful by any definition—with a number of facilities still incomplete at the time of commissioning,” Imoke said. “We had a situation where we had to keep this huge entity going and continue to spend resources, but what was important commercially and economically to make Tinapa viable had not been put in place and, till today, is still not in place.” Imoke also gave figures to illustrate the scale of the commercial assumptions behind the project. “To give you some numbers: You are anticipating three million visitors into Calabar to build a mall. To receive 1.5 million at the Calabar airport for Tinapa as conceptualized, you need 63 flights a day, with a minimum of 130 people on each flight. You are expecting 8,000+ footfalls a day, and you spent $350 million,” he said. “As we speak, there was no power supply to Tinapa on the day of commissioning. I was the one who brought power in by installing an IPP to keep Tinapa functional.” Imoke also rejected claims that he abandoned the project after succeeding Donald Duke as governor, saying his administration continued to operate and expand the use of the resort. “There was no half-road built, and there was no abandonment. I kept it going and sustained it until I left office. “He had intentions to put in a monorail and had imported some rails before he left office. I connected that monorail to the Convention Centre. I brought an ICT hub into Tinapa. I moved aspects of the Calabar Carnival and festival to Tinapa. I held all government conferences, South-South governors’ meetings, economic development conferences, and Nigerian Society of Engineers events at Tinapa,” he said. Imoke’s comments came amid a renewed disagreement with Duke over the ₦40bn Tinapa project, which was initiated under Duke’s administration and later faced investment, regulatory and debt challenges. He said his administration’s decision-making was also shaped by competing responsibilities to the people of Cross River State. “Tinapa was conceptualized as a PPP project, but not a standard one where government is a facilitator providing an enabling environment and land. In this case, Tinapa was a government-sponsored PPP project. Trying to manage Tinapa—which was Donald’s baby—and at the same time trying to deliver on my commitments to the electorate meant prioritizing rural development, infrastructure, healthcare delivery, and civil servant pay. “Governance is about serving the people. It was very important that we served those who needed it most—people in communities who did not have access to healthcare, qualitative education, or basic infrastructure for farming to bring goods to market. I focused on that, while not abandoning Tinapa or Obudu Ranch. But the problem was the actual conceptualization of Tinapa, its cost, and its impact,” he said. Tosin Oyediran Tosin Oyediran is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of professional experience in reporting and storytelling. He is known for conducting incisive interviews and producing compelling human-angle stories that bring clarity and depth to the news. Tosin covers a broad range of beats including politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment, with a strong focus on people-centred reporting. His work reflects firsthand newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to accurate, engaging, and trustworthy journalism.

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