12th December, 2023
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA has called on the political actors to put a break to the ongoing political crisis in Rivers and face governance for which they were elected to boost Investments into the state.
Deputy National President of NACCIMA, Dr Emi-Membere Otaji, made the call in Port Harcourt at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Correspondents’ Week of Rivers NUJ on Monday.
The week is organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, in partnership with the Mayor of Housing, with the theme: “Rivers State and Quest for Ideal Investment Climate: Role of the Media”.
Otaji, who was the keynote speaker, regretted that though Rivers State is the oil and gas capital of Nigeria, major business decisions in oil and gas businesses were taken in Lagos where there is always an enabling environment for private business Investment.
He described the theme and sub-theme of the event as apt, noting that while it was cheaper for entrepreneurs to import due to cost of production, the economy will continue to suffer due to capital flight and loss of jobs from lack of manufacturing in-country.
Dr Emi-Membre Otaji, a former Commissioner of Health during the former Governor Dr. Peter Odili’s administration and a seasoned entrepreneur, warned that prolonged political crisis will cripple inflow of local and foreign investments into the state.
The serial entrepreneur with diverse interests in maritime, oil and gas sectors reminded the political actors in the State that they were elected to give good governance to the people of the state to improve their living conditions.
He therefore called for a deliberate, stronger public-private sector partnership to boost investments and grow the economy of Rivers State.
According to him, for the state to grow economically, there must be deliberate infrastructural development across the 23 LGAs, as well as support and incentives for SMEs as obtainable in Lagos.
He said, “There must be deliberate infrastructure around the 23 LGAs for people living there to curb urban-rural migration, just like in the US, where every state has numerous cities. So infrastructural development should be state-wide.
“There must be intentional and deliberate support for the micro, small and medium enterprises. These enterprises employ more people than the public sector. They must be supported, they form the basis of our GDP and employment of labour.
There must be intentional incentives for businesses “to thrive, because the SMEs are crying. Lagos and Ogun are deliberately attracting investments into the state with so many incentives. They are giving businesses all the support to thrive.
“There must be strategic and deliberate development, as obtainable in Lagos and Ogun. The time for a deliberate, stronger public-private sector partnership in Rivers State is now.”
He also lamented Governor Siminalayi Fubara is being distracted from governance by endless squabbles with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike who is now the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
He urged Wike to remember that he governed without distraction Rivers and should also allow Fubara to concentrate on governance in the state because the people of the state will be the ultimate losers in the ongoing squabbles.