Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recounted how successive governments that followed his administration in Bayelsa State abandoned projects he initiated towards building world class hotels in the state.
Jonathan, who spoke during the commissioning of Best Western Plus Hotel, a hospitality resort at Oxbow Lake, Yenagoa, said he wanted to boost the tourism sector in Bayelsa by developing world class hospitality facilities.
He recalled efforts during his tenure as governor to encourage private investments in hospitality to make Yenagoa more attractive to tourists and business travelers.
The former President said: “First, while I was the elected Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, the Governor then, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, started hosting African Movie award ceremonies that people from America, South Africa and others were coming, actors and actresses.
“It was a world event, you know all these celebrities, they live sort of fantastic life and the first edition hosted, most of the external guests stayed in Port Harcourt, because there was no hotel that you could see in Bayelsa State.
“The idea of a state in encouraging tourism is for tourists to spend their foreign money in the state to stimulate the local economy, so if the state is to spend on the programme that brings people from all over the world and then the money will be spent in other states, that is a negative investment.
“So when I took over as the governor, then there were a quite some small hotels in Yenagoa, and we cannot build a three star hotel overnight. So we said let us give some little money for our hotels to improve, but they are supposed to pay back, and we gave money up to N15 million to a number of people, but because I left, nobody returned any money to anybody.
“So when we wanted to host again, we quickly award contracts to build three hotels – the Tower Hotel and two three star hotels. If they had done these three hotels, by now visitors coming to Bayelsa State would have have comfortable place to stay, but somehow when I left, even people I mobilized, we didn’t see what they have done.
“That is the problem of government, when a governor leaves, the next governor don’t want to follow up. Most of those money spent will go,” Jonathan said.
He lauded the management of Best Western Plus for bringing the brand to Bayelsa, noting that the development would boost the tourism potential of the state.
In his remarks, Governor Duoye Diri described the project as a landmark development that would boost the state’s hospitality sector, create employment for the youth, and contribute to community development.
Also speaking, Executive Director of the hotel, Mrs Initeme Adukeh-Eromhonsele and the hotel’s founder, Dr. Harcourt Adukeh, noted that the launch of Best Western Plus Hotel, an affiliate of the Best Western brand, signifies Yenagoa’s growing reputation as an emerging hub for tourism, investment, and high-end hospitality in the Niger Delta region.
Chand Rami, the general manager, added that the the brand is expanding its footprint in Nigeria, with Yenagoa joining other facilities in Asaba and Enugu.
