Liyel Imoke Discusses Tinapa Resort's Financial Burden

Liyel Imoke, the former Governor of Cross River State, stated that his administration inherited substantial debts and contingent liabilities associated with the Tinapa Business Resort and Obudu Ranch Resort. He explained that these financial burdens compelled his administration to keep Tinapa operational and seek ways to generate economic activity from the resort.

Imoke noted that the debt guarantee for Tinapa was called shortly before his predecessor, Donald Duke, left office, making it part of the liabilities he inherited. He argued that making Tinapa work was a reasonable approach to avoid servicing these debts without returns.

His administration introduced several initiatives, including linking a proposed monorail project to the Tinapa International Convention Centre and establishing an Information and Communications Technology hub at Tinapa. Imoke also mentioned that government conferences and events were held at the resort.

He acknowledged that while the original vision for Tinapa was not fully realized, his efforts aimed to build a commercially viable ecosystem despite the challenges of servicing inherited liabilities, which once exceeded N1 billion monthly.