By John Agbo (John Lead)
The Executive Governor of Enugu State Barr. Peter Mbah has announced the state government's plans to build a total of four tourism sites in the state. The governor announced this while speaking at a Town Hall meeting with the stakeholders of Enugu West Senatorial district held on Saturday, the 4th of October 2025 at the Old government lodge, Abakaliki Road, Enugu.. The tourism sites are to be located in Okpatu, Ngwo, Nsude, and Awgu Town
Giving the details of the project the governor who informed the stakeholders that the state Executive Council has approved the four tourism sites said the project includes a 'Cross of Hope' which is about 70 meters in height and will be situated on a hill in Okpatu Town which is about 580 meters above sea level and the highest in the state.
"We are building what is known as 'Cross of Hope at Okpatu', you know that, we are also re-designing it with Rotundas flowers with a canopy Walkway by the Monastery at Awhum and the 'Waterfall'. The contract has already been awarded, and they are still clearing the site. Most of them will be ready very soon. The contract is about 13 billion for those four tourism sites, and the approval was obtained last month. The second site is at Ngwo, where we have the Pine Forest, and we are doing a 'Zip Line', a 300-meter 'Zip Line'. It is the first 'Zip Line' in this country. The 'Zip Line' is the number one in Nigeria, and in terms of length, it is the longest 'Zip Line' in Africa. So you can take a Zip Line' from the 'Pine Forest' all the way to the 'Water Fall'. So it's a massive tourism experience. That's what we are doing and then the next one is in Nsude. You know where we have the Nsude Pyramid, we are building a whole lot of facilities at the top of the Pyramid, we are rebuilding the Pyramid. But above all, because we are building a hotel at the top of the hill, there is a canopy walkway for you to walk up. So it is a massive tourism experience".
The governor who was accompanied to the event by the Chief of Staff Barr. Victor Udeh, further emphasized that the 'Cross of Hope' at Okpatu is for religious tourism. "The highest hill point in this state is in Okpatu, where we have 580 meters above sea level. The cross of hope is about 70 meters, so it's going to be sitting on top of that hill. 70 meters is about 20 floors in terms of height. So imagine what it is. It's for religious tourism. We are looking for people to come into the state" The fourth site is at Awgu town, where the governor is building a brand new Game Village. The governor stated that the new Game Village at Awgu will surpass the defunct Awgu Game Village in all ramifications.
In the transport sector, the Governor announced that an additional five bus terminals are going to be constructed soon. The new Bus Terminals will be located at Emene, Udi, Four Corners, Obollo Afor, and Awgu. When added to the five bus terminals already commissioned by the government, it will be a total of ten bus terminals constructed by the Peter Mbah administration.
The announcement was greeted with a joyous applause from the crowd, which is a mark of people's acceptance and approval of the Governor's innovative projects in the tourism sector. The Enugu West zonal Town hall meeting which was massively attended attracted about 300 major stakeholders from both political, professional, Academic, and Business backgrounds, including the former Director General of Voice Nigeria VON, Chief Osita Okechukwu, Former DIG Mike Nwobodo, Sir, Isaac Chuks, and some former Chairmen of Udi, Awgu, Aninri, Oji River, and Ezeagu LGAs among numerous other distinguished citizens from the zone. The Enugu West Senatorial district Town hall meeting was the concluding part of the exercise that the governor embarked on recently to get a direct pulse of the people of the state regarding the progress so far made by his administration.
