Eno to revamp moribund Ibom Tropicana

… inspects hotel, convention centre

Governor Umo Eno has reassured of his administration’s commitment to revamping the moribund Ibom Tropicana Entertainment complex by re-constructing the Ibom International Convention Centre and Hotel in furtherance of the tourism drive of the ARISE Agenda.

Briefing Government House Correspondents after an unscheduled inspection of the facilities, Governor Eno remarked that the facilities cannot continue to lie waste, considering the volume of funds already sunk into the projects by the previous administration.

“You need to know how much we have sunk into these projects. And, you need to know how much of Akwa Ibom’s money is invested here. Akwa Ibom State is fast becoming a tourist destination. So, we need to tidy up these projects to effectively build up our digital economy.

“If our focus is on building a world-class economy in terms of diversification, we can’t do without an International Conference Centre like this, which can sit about 5,000 people at a go and also boasts breakout rooms.

“We also have this hotel with about 200 rooms tied up to the International Convention Centre. This place also has a shopping city as well as a theme park, which we are about to go into a Public Private Partnership arrangement.”

Governor Eno said the unscheduled inspection of the facilities was to bring out the best in terms of appropriate interactions with the workers, observance of the quality of work done, timely completion of the project and execution according to specifications.

“What motivates me in all these inspections is the amount of money put into these projects. We are elected to serve the people, and you put your mind where your money is. So, we have to restart this construction, and I love unscheduled inspections to see what is happening and ascertain if the workers are on site.

“It is not just enough to give a contract. There is a schedule –a timeline. We need to visit sites to know if the timeline is realistic or if we have any challenges anywhere. So, when you come to the site, you can deal with the issues right there and then,” he explained.

Speaking further, he said, “For me, I was taught way back in my business school class that, in Africa, you get what you inspect, you don’t get what you expect. So, that principle helps me a lot.

“Besides, we are officially flagging off these projects next week, and I needed to see and know what is on the ground to be able to say exactly as it is without any contradictions after the flag-off. And, the best way to inspect this work is to do it unscheduled,” he explained.