Nigeria, a tourism hub – Jonathan, Clinton, Fashola
February 22, 2013 by Ihuoma Chiedozie and Maureen Azuh , The Punch
President
Goodluck Jonathan, a former United States President, Bill Clinton, and
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday expressed optimism
that the country would soon be the choice destination for tourists
across the world.
The trio spoke at an event to commemorate
the reclamation of a 5,000,000 square metres of land for the Eko
Atlantic City project on Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Eko Atlantic City will involve the
reclamation of about 10,000,000 square metres of land expected to lead
to the construction of a “world class city”, which will house about
250,000 residents
Jonathan said the project was another
major addition to the nation’s resolve to promote tourism through public
and private partnership.
He said, “This landmark event is
continuing the good news that Nigeria must embrace permanently. It took
19 years for us to win the Nation’s Cup again; the trains that now run
from Lagos to Kano took us another 19 years to get them back on track.
The President said the housing sector all
over the world creates employment for citizens, adding that it was for
this reason that the Federal Government had accorded the housing and
urban development sector utmost attention.
He said his administration had commenced
the establishment of a mortgage institution that would help in providing
finance for the housing and construction sector, adding that the
institution would be called the Nigerian Mortgage and Finance
Corporation.
He said, “The Nigerian Mortgage Finance
Corporation will have partners that will include the Federal Government,
Nigerian local banks, savings and loans institutions and the World Bank
which is providing construction credit of $200m.
“We want to make sure that houses are
available for those who want to rent or build as well as those in real
estate business, so that people can have access to cheap funds and have
their own houses.”
Jonathan emphasised that the housing and
construction sectors were important component of the country’s Gross
Domestic Products, saying the challenges in the housing and construction
sectors cut across a number of areas.
The areas include access to finance, property tax loan, and high cost of building materials, among others.
Clinton said the city, on completion,
would not only become a tourist delight for people all over the world
but would contribute to the development of Nigeria’s economy.
He said the city could also be home to
people around the world, especially for over 10,000 people who lost
their houses to hurricanes.
He said, “I saw what happened in the US
after Hurricane Katrina went wild in the city where I spent my childhood
with buildings buried in water. Most recently was New York, which was
hit by Hurricane Sandy with thousands of people losing their homes and
lives.
“These people will come to Nigeria;
people want to live near the water where they can have a feel of nature.
You have provided a beautiful option to brand the city, the state and
the nation. The shape of the stones of the Great Wall shows the
understanding of how the water reacts; people will come from all over
the world to study the wall.”
Fashola said the project was another proof of human commitment.
He said, “Although it is not finished, it
is already a success story. The road that was lost to the coastal
erosion is back and now motorable. The buildings that were deserted are
now occupied. Somebody’s values have been restored and multiplied. More
buildings are springing up along this axis because of opportunities that
lie ahead.
“When all is done, a new city will emerge
from what was once a devastated area as a result of what nature cost
us. Our ultimate triumph now beckons and the human spirit will prevail
again. Nature has lost yet again, human spirit has won.”
Meanwhile, an Abuja High Court has fixed
April 9, 2013, to hear an application by a company, BPS Construction and
Engineering Limited to stop further action on the city project.
The company had filed the action in 2009
claiming that its proprietary rights for the Eko Atlantic City Project
was ‘passed off’ to Hitech Construction Company and South Energy X
Nigeria Limited by the state government in 2005 after it incurred heavy
expenses for the design.
The company alleged that the project was initially awarded to it by a Federal Government committee.
In the motion slated for hearing by
Justice I.M. Bukar, BPS’ counsel Tochukwu Onwugbufor, (SAN), is asking
for an interlocutory injunction restraining the Lagos State Government
and the companies from continuing with the dredging of the estate and
selling the plots in it.
The company is also asking for N120bn as damages for the losses it incurred in the design.
Furthermore, it is asking the court to order the state government and the two companies to hands-off the project.