BY EHIGIMETOR IGBAUGBA
TINAPA Business Leisure Resort, situated in Adiabo on the outskirts of Calabar, Cross River State, was established to be a world class tourism, investment and leisure hub.
The ground-breaking ceremony of the 265 hectares resort was performed in 2005.
On August 15, 2006, the Federal Government declared the resort a Free Trade Zone pursuant to the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act No. 63 of 1992.
Investors saw this declaration as the tonic needed to realise the then Gov. Donald Duke’s vision of attracting local and international investors; the excitement was palpable.
In April 2, 2007, the resort was inaugurated to the delight of investors and stakeholders.
The resort project reportedly cost over 350 million dollars; the free trade zone has facilities like a shopping mall, a business center, a hotel, a water park, and an artificial tidal lake.
It also has a film production studio called “Studio Tinapa”, and an entertainment strip with a casino.
However, problems started soon after the inauguration of the first phase of the resort in 2007.
The first challenge centered on its legal status as a free trade zone.
It is owned by the Cross River Government, but only the Federal Government can operate a free trade zone.
The EndSars’ protest of 2020 also hampered Tinapa’s operational capacity.
Nonetheless, the destruction occasioned by the protest to the facilities at Tinapa was only a continuation or intensification of something already in a bad situation.
Observers say the struggling Tinapa was only victimised by the protest as the EndSars protest itself was not the root cause of the challenges that had bedeviled the resort. In the wake of the chaos that followed the protest, scores of militants and miscreants stormed Tinapa, vandalised and loaded goods into boats and vehicles. The Lakeside Hotel, a 244-room edifice, was looted and vandalised, with brand new vehicles and forklifts burnt.
The EndSARS protests, which began as a call to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigerian Police Force, turned violent in parts of the country, including Tinapa in Cross River.
The violent protest itself was not the root cause of the problems of Tinapa but it is the pre-existing vulnerability that made the resort susceptible.
Duke’s successor, Sen. Liyel Imoke, had appealed to the Federal Government to take a stake in the project and to remove uncertainty about its status, which has been hindering investment.
He suggested that one approach could be to decouple the leisure facilities from the trading zone.
Imoke had said that the state government was looking for private sector investors who would run the project more efficiently.
Stakeholders say the uncertainty over the resort’s legal status and the non-approval of the operating procedures and guidelines almost rendered the resort deserted.
The few shops that were staffed would not sell their goods out of concern that customs officials would then force them to close.
The shops at the complex then were still largely empty, while interest payments on the construction cost of the complex were rising.
In September 2010, Imoke said the government was focusing on resuscitating the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort.
A resident, Effiong Umoh, said Tinapa was merely trying to stay afloat as at 2011.
“Then, most of the shops had closed, and the other facilities such as the exhibition space and movie studio had not been used for a long time.
“The hotel was open but hardly had any guests; only the water park was busy, especially for children and youths who patronise the place during holidays and weekends,” he said.
In 2013, the Nigerian Custom Service claimed that the Free Trade Zone was not properly constituted and began charging duty on purchases as they were brought out of the zone.
These challenges, coupled with the issues of court cases over mounting debts, led to the neglect of the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort.
Imoke, having realised that the burden was too much for the state to bear, turned the resort over to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Llyord Ndoma, a resident and entrepreneur, said the then governor was forced to take the painful decision as bank loans Tinapa took over the years had accumulated.
“The debts to various banks were put at over N18 billion; no thanks to bottlenecks that have ensured the project remains unprofitable.
“With this, the government has given 85 percent of Tinapa’s shares to the corporation.
“AMCON was expected to inject about N29 billion to revive business activities in Tinapa before inviting investors to take over majority shares in the outfit,” he said.
Ndoma said that Imoke’s successor, Prof. Ben Ayade, did nothing to help the situation of the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort until the EndSars protest of 2020 did the final damage.
Mr Mike Odere, Cross River Commissioner for Finance, put the damage occasioned by the protest at N100 billion.
Upon assumption of office, however, Gov. Bassey Otu, Ayade’s successor, reassured the people of his government’s intention to resuscitate the resort.
In February 2025, the government announced that it had taken possession of the resort following an agreement with the AMCON.
Otu explained that the recovery of the resort was made possible after the state government made some financial commitment to the AMCON.
The governor, who did not disclose the amount paid to regain possession of the asset, said that the government had already initiated plans to resuscitate the business resort.
“The state spent humongous amount to construct Tinapa and I cannot sit back and do nothing to put the place in order.
“We did not contemplate taking loan for it because no financial institution will grant such when there is an existing facility running on Tinapa,” he said.
Meanwhile, six months after this announcement, nothing concrete has been heard from the government concerning plans to revive the prime asset.
The Management Director of the resort, Dr Francis Ekom, simply declined to comment on the government’s plans to resuscitate the place with this concluding statement.
“A lot has happened, and we wouldn’t want to dwell on what has happened in the past.
“We have reached a milestone which the governor himself will soon unveil,” he said.
It is stakeholders’ view that, to revamp Tinapa Business Resort, the Cross River Government must have the political will to reclaim ownership, attract investors and engender efficient management.
