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By Chukwumaechi Godwin
The deputy national president of Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Dr Emi-Membere Otaji, has called for a deliberate and stronger public-private sector partnership to boost investments and grow the economy of Rivers State.
Otaji made the call in Port Harcourt on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Correspondents’ Week in Port Harcourt.
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”.
In his keynote address at the ceremony Otaji, regretted that Rivers State was the oil and gas capital of Nigeria, yet oil and gas businesses and major business decisions were being made in Lagos.
He described the theme and sub-theme of the event as apt, noting that while it was cheaper for entrepreneurs to import due to high cost of production in Nigeria, the economy would continue to suffer due to capital flight and lost of jobs from lack of manufacturing in-country.
According to him, for the state to grow economically, there must be deliberate infrastructural development across the 23 LGAs, as well as support and give enough incentives to Small and Medium Enterprises as obtainable in Lagos.
He said, “There must be deliberate provision of infrastructure around the 23 LGAs for people living there to curb urban-rural migration, just like in 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, SMEs. 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.”
On his part an entrepreneur, Mr. My-Ace China, called on the Rivers State government and the media to spearhead the campaign to change the negative perception of investors about Rivers State.
China, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Construction and Housing Mayor Limited, stated that there was the need for government to increase it’s support to the media, for it to continue to engage in positively reportage of activities that promote the state.
China, who is popularly known as ‘Mayor of Housing’, while residents of the state was tired of the capital flight from Port Harcourt, to other places, especially Lagos adding that even the government was tired of making promises without fulfilling them.
He said: “Entertainers are tired of the Lagos, Port Harcourt dichotomy. The greatest thing we are tired of is the capital flight. We are tired of that narrative that Port Harcourt is unsafe.
“The second part of what I want to say is that we are tired. I have been in Rivers State long enough to feel the pulse of the people; we are tired.
“Talk to the incumbent governor, he will tell you that he is tired of politicking and politics, he is hungry for “value-ticking” and “value-tics”. He is tired of political promises without dividends of democracy. He is tired of promises without deliverables.
“He is so passionate about delivering deliverables to a level his does not mind whose ox is gored. He is committed to that and I admire him greatly.”
In his welcome address, Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ, Rivers State, Amaechi Okonkwo, explained that the choice of the theme for the programme was the need to galvanise stakeholders to push for a peaceful and united Rivers State that would encourage investment and investors into the state.
He said: “The current administration should, by all means, now vigorously pursue the implementation of its campaign promise of consolidation, while ensuring the maintenance of the road infrastructure and expansion into other important sectors that are begging for attention.
“Government, the organised private sector OPS and other stakeholders must wear their thinking caps to fashion out blueprints that will capitalise on the comparative advantages of the state to build a thriving state economy for all.
We in the media, I charge us to stick to professionalism as we also carry out our jobs also bearing in mind the peace and progress of the state. For in times of war and crisis, bullets do not recognise journalists. Ask the scores of them who have lost their lives in the Israeli-Hamas war.
He urged journalists in the state to embrace development journalism rather than yellow journalism and any other type that does not support peace and unity of the state.
He said; “In trying to break the news let us only break the stories that will build but not break the society. Let us project more of the positives in our state than ones that portray it in bad light thereby unnecessarily charging the environment and scaring away investors”.