The Cross River State Executive Council has approved the comprehensive remodeling, rehabilitation and furnishing of the iconic Calabar International Convention Centre (CICC), in a strategic move to reposition the facility as a world-class economic and tourism asset ahead of the 2026 African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AFSNET) summit.
The approval was granted at its May 13th State Executive Council meeting following the presentation of a memorandum by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure.
Council noted that while an earlier approval had been granted on March 18, 2026, for Phase One intervention works at the facility, subsequent forensic evaluations and technical assessments revealed the urgent need for a complete overhaul of the entire edifice rather than a remedial facelift, following the carnage perpetrated in 2020 by Endsars movement.
The Exco noted that “the Calabar International Convention Centre was originally conceived as a flagship state-of-the-art edifice, but has regrettably experienced significant infrastructural decline and functional obsolescence beyond what was earlier envisaged,” warning that proceeding with only the previously approved touch-up works would amount to a knee-jerk approach that may in no distant time return the facility to decay and rot.”
Council was informed that the remodeling project would encompass extensive rehabilitation works, architectural redesign, installation of elevators within the core conference halls, high-specification furnishing and the upgrade of supporting infrastructure to meet modern international conference standards. It emphasized that the intervention had become imperative in view of Cross River State’s hosting of the 2026 AFSNET summit and the broader economic renaissance agenda of the present administration.
The state Executive Council described the project as “a strategic investment in the future of Cross River State,” noting that the revitalized conference centre would stimulate tourism, attract global conferences and business engagements, create employment opportunities and strengthen the state’s reputation as a premier destination for international events. “This administration is determined to halt further deterioration of critical public assets and reposition them for optimal economic and social utility,” the Council stated.
