Former President Goodluck Jonathan has slammed state governors for abandoning projects initiated by their predecessors, describing the trend as a major source of waste in governance.
Speaking on Wednesday during the inauguration of a hotel in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Jonathan lamented that many key projects he began as governor were left unattended after he left office.
He revealed that his administration had launched several hotel projects to boost tourism and attract investors to Bayelsa before he became Vice President in 2007.
“When a governor leaves office, the next governor doesn’t want to follow up, and most of the money spent goes to waste,” Jonathan said.
The former president explained that his government had invested heavily in the hospitality sector to make Yenagoa more attractive, especially during the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which the state hosted at the time.
“During the first AMAA event, most of the international guests stayed in Port Harcourt because Bayelsa had no suitable hotels,” he said.
Jonathan added that he had provided loans between ₦10 million and ₦15 million to local hoteliers to upgrade their facilities, but the initiative died after he left office.
He also noted that three major hotels — including the Tower Hotel and two three-star facilities — were awarded during his tenure but were never completed.
“If they had done these three hotels, by now visitors coming to Bayelsa State would have had comfortable places to stay,” Jonathan said, stressing that the abandonment of such projects remains a major governance flaw in Nigeria.