Former President Goodluck Jonathan has criticised successive administrations in Bayelsa State for abandoning key development projects he initiated during his tenure as governor.
Speaking on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Best Western Plus Hotel in Yenagoa, Jonathan expressed disappointment that several initiatives designed to boost tourism and investment in the state were left incomplete after he left office in 2007.
He recalled that his administration had embarked on multiple hotel projects to enhance the state’s hospitality sector and attract visitors, especially during the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which Bayelsa hosted at the time.
“During the first AMAA event, most international guests stayed in Port Harcourt because Bayelsa had no suitable hotels,” Jonathan said. “So we supported local hoteliers with loans of between N10 million and N15 million to upgrade their facilities.
But after I left office, the initiative was abandoned, and the funds were never recovered.”
The former president added that contracts for three major hotels — including the Tower Hotel and two three-star facilities — were awarded under his administration but never completed.
“If those projects had been finished, visitors coming to Bayelsa today would have had comfortable places to stay,” he lamented. “Unfortunately, when one governor leaves, the next does not continue, and the money already spent goes to waste.”
Jonathan, however, commended the management of Best Western Plus for bringing a world-class hospitality brand to the state, describing it as a fulfilment of his original vision for Bayelsa’s tourism industry.
In his remarks, Governor Douye Diri lauded the hotel’s founder, Dr. Harcourt Adukeh, for his commitment and investment in the state’s economy, noting that the project would boost the hospitality sector, create jobs, and attract further private investment.
He urged Bayelsans to emulate Adukeh by investing in their home state to promote sustainable development.
Also speaking, the hotel’s Executive Director, Mrs. Initeme Aduke-Eromhonsele, highlighted the facility’s elegant design and scenic view of the Oxbow Lake, describing it as a blend of comfort and modernity.
The opening of the Best Western Plus Hotel, an affiliate of the global Best Western brand, marks a major milestone in Yenagoa’s emergence as a destination for tourism, business, and premium hospitality in the Niger Delta.