Cross River State Government Terminates Obudu Cattle Ranch 25-year Concession

• The Obudu Cattle ranch management concession deal has been terminated by the Cross River state government
• Cross River state governor, Bassey Otu, attributed the decision to several breaches on the part of CIBA
• The ranch has now been recovered and handed over to stakeholders for a revamp of its facilities

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The Cross River State Government has terminated the Obudu Cattle Ranch management concession deal with immediate effect

The ranch was signed over to CIBA Construction Company Limited in 2017 to manage it for 25 years.

But just 8 years into the arrangement, the concession agreement has been revoked over a long list of issues.

The information was contained in a letter signed by the Cross River state commissioner for justice and attorney-general, Ededem Ani.

Why Cross River government terminated the deal

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The state government justified its decision with a long list of alleged material breaches on the part of CIBA, according to NAN.

In the letter, the state pointed out that CIBA had failed to keep to its development obligations outlined in Sections 5.0, 6.0, and 14.0(b) in the agreement.

These sections required the company to invest in renovating the hotel and other essential facilities in the resort, which CIBA has yet to fulfil.

In the letter, Ani stated that the company also fell short in several other areas, hence the government’s decision to terminate the agreement.

The Obudu Cattle Ranch, more commonly known as Obudu Mountain Resort, was first developed in 1951 by a Scottish rancher named M. McCaughey and then remodelled under the leadership of Governor Donald Duke in the early 2000s to be an icon of tourism.

It, however, fell into a state of disrepair under subsequent administrations, leading to declined patronage.

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It was then concessioned to CIBA in 2017 under former Governor Ben Ayade, and the provisions required CIBA to take over designing, financing, building, maintaining, operating and transforming the facility.

With the termination of this concession, the governor mandated his special adviser and chief executive officer of Obudu Ranch Resort, Sunday Michael, to coordinate the revamp of the facility.

The governor is also taking steps to revive the renowned 11.25km annual Obudu Mountain Race, last held in 2014.

Cross River government concessions garment factory, others

Recall that the Cross River state government recently signed a concession deal affecting several state-owned businesses.

The Jampur Group - an indian business group - was the beneficiary in this deal, which covered the state-owned garment factory, a fertiliser plant, and one other business.

The concession deal is billed to last for the next two decades, and the state government has very high expectations of the Jampur group.

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FG to transform Obudu Cattle Ranch

Earlier, Legit.ng reported the Nigerian government announced plans to transform the Obudu Cattle Ranch into a major livestock and dairy hub.

This move will propel the country towards actualising Nigeria's N33 trillion beef and dairy industry.

The government has also put other plans in place to drive food security and the development of the livestock industry.

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng