Jonathan Slams Governors for Abandoning Predecessors’ Projects, Calls It Nigeria’s Biggest Governance Failure
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed strong disapproval over the recurring trend of state governors abandoning development projects initiated by their predecessors, describing it as one of the greatest impediments to Nigeria’s progress.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Best Western Plus Hotel in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Wednesday, Jonathan lamented what he called “a wasteful culture of discontinuity” that undermines governance and development efforts across the country.
PulseNets learnt that the former president’s comments came against the backdrop of his personal experiences as a onetime governor of Bayelsa State before he became Vice President in 2007. He recalled that several projects conceived during his tenure were “left to rot” by successive administrations rather than being completed for the benefit of the people.
“When I was governor, we started initiatives meant to open Bayelsa to the world through tourism and investment,” Jonathan told PulseNets. “Unfortunately, many of those efforts were abandoned, and that has cost the state valuable opportunities.”
The former president noted that his administration had invested in positioning Bayelsa as a tourism destination by supporting events such as the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which once drew filmmakers and celebrities from across the globe to the state.
He, however, observed that “because there were no quality hotels in Yenagoa at the time, most of our international guests stayed in Port Harcourt.”
According to Jonathan, the primary goal behind such events was to stimulate local economic growth by ensuring tourists spent money within Bayelsa State. He explained that the absence of adequate infrastructure—particularly hospitality facilities—defeated that objective and stunted the state’s tourism potential.
“If successive governments had sustained and completed those projects,” he added, “Yenagoa would today stand as a thriving hub for investors, tourists, and global visitors.”
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PulseNets obtained further insight from local observers who echoed Jonathan’s view, stressing that the lack of policy continuity remains one of Nigeria’s biggest governance challenges. They urged leaders at all levels to adopt a sustainable approach that builds on past administrations’ achievements instead of discarding them for political reasons.
