NACCIMA to Rivers govt: Collaborate with PPP to develop

The Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has urged the Rivers Government to ensure stronger ties with the public-private sector for an overwhelming economic development of the state.

Dr Emi-Membere Otaji, the Deputy National President of NACCIMA, made the remark at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Correspondents’ Week, organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Port Harcourt.

The Week, which was also organised in partnership with the Mayor of Housing, is themed, ‘’Rivers State and Quest for Ideal Investment Climate: Role of the Media.’’

Delivering the keynote address, Otaji said that the theme was apt and maintained that the state, being an oil and gas one, needed to record development even at the grassroots levels.

He said that there must be infrastructure, especially electricity around the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) for people at the grassroots to curb urban-rural migration in order to achieve economical growth.

He said that ‘’just like in US, where every state has numerous cities,’’ infrastructural development should be state-wide while there would be support and incentives for SMEs as obtainable in Lagos.

Otaji decried that the fact that the state, although an oil-rich state, still witnessed oil and gas businesses and major business decisions affecting it taken outside its jurisdiction.

He, however, called for support for the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises as they employed more people than the public sector and formed the basis of the GDP while reducing unemployment rate.

He urged the state government to create incentives for businesses to thrive, saying that the SMEs were suffering due to harsh environment.

Otaji urged the Rivers government to emulate Lagos and Ogun which are attracting investments into their states with many incentives and giving businesses the necessary support to thrive. (NAN) 

By Precious Akutamadu