At last, the Delta State Government has revoked the concession agreement it entered into, in the development and management of Lander Brothers’ Anchorage, Asaba, Delta State capital.
The revocation of the agreement by the State Government followed what it described as “the abysmal failure of Jabi Boat Club, the entity to which the anchorage was concessioned, to execute its own side of the agreement”.
A statement signed by the Director of Public Communication, Mrs Theresa Oliko stated that the “government had entered into the agreement with the private company with the aim to revamp the the facility in boosting tourism sector of the State in 2021 to develop and manage the anchorage.
The statement further added that with the revocation, “the Directorate of Culture and Tourism was in the process of conducting a fresh bid to engage a company with the capacity to develop and manage the anchorage with a view to further bring the dividends of democracy to Deltans”.
Recall that The Town Hall Media wrote news analysis over the soured relationship between the Delta State Government and Jabi over this matter on the 14th of September 2023
Part that piece is hereby reproduced for refreshing of memory.
The Town Hall Media gathered that the Agreement stipulated that the firm would build, operate and transfer, otherwise known as (BOT) with a specified time frame with operations scheduled to begin in 2023 ( this year).
….Enter Sheriff Oborevwori’s government Okowa served out his tenure on the 29th of May this year, 2023 without any sign that Jabi Boat Club was forthcoming to commence operation as stated in the Agreement.
Aniagwu, during the press briefing sometime in November 2020 about the coming on board of the firm said with nostalgia that “because of its reputation in international tourism business sector, we (Okowa government) are bringing in Jabi Boat Club Abuja for standardization, revitalisation of the historical monument”.
Then came the 5th day of this month, September 2023, State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Darlington Ijeh raised alarm over the alleged non performance of Jabi Boat.Commissioner Ijeh went ahead to issue a 48-hour ultimatum to the firm to give reason why the State government should not terminate the contract.
That ultimatum was issued almost two weeks ago, yet no dice.Peeved by the ugly development from Jabi for allegedly not living up expectation,the Commissioner told the press assumption of office that “Messrs Jabi Boat Club Abuja had on 1st December, 2020, entered into agreement with the State government to build, operate and transfer within a specified period, with operation of the facility expected to have commenced in year 2023” .
He lamented that “all the contractor had done on the site was to demolish the structure that was a tourist site and generating revenue for the State and youths of the community who had small businesses where the Lander Brothers’ Anchorage is located in Asaba”.
He further noted that more worrisome was that Messrs Jabi Boat Club, Abuja was contracted the same day with that of the Maryam Babangida Leisure Park and Film Village, pointing out that while the Leisure Park had been built and successfully handed over to the State government and subsequently commissioned for use, Jabi failed to deliver.
The question now is beyond mere rethorics, barking and not biting, what is the Delta State doing to get out of this quagmire because terminating a lease contract is not a tea party as Jabi Boat Club Abuja may presently flaunting the agreement papers.
Can the State Government settle this knotty issue amicably without collateral damages as it is obvious it can’t do business with Jabi going forward.
Can the Landers Brothers Anchorage project remain in the limbo and for how long?
With the revocation, it is obvious that this administration under the watch of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is serious minded and a no nonsense one.
It is also clear that the governor takes media seriously and pays attention to public perceptions and more importantly, the government
is there to ensure that every kobo invested is not wasted.
