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… As Fubara Earmarks $10m to Boost Agric Value Chain
By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has said that the reason why Nigeria has witnessed minimal foreign direct investments (FDI) in the past ten years is due to poor governance of the country by politicians.
This was as the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, disclosed that his administration has earmarked about $10 million in the 2024 fiscal year to boost agriculture value chain in the state.
Moghalu who was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the two-day Rivers State Economic and Investment Summit (RSEIS), on Wednesday noted that foreign investors were no fools and would only take their monies where they are guaranteed returns on their investments.
The summit which has as theme: ‘Rivers Emerge: Advancing Pathways to Economic Growth and Sustainability,’ held at Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He said that good governance was the foundation for attracting foreign investments and economic transportation, lamenting that good governance was what Nigerian politicians have failed to provide for the country in the past decade.
He added that because of the prevalence of poor governance in Nigeria, the human and natural resources abundant in the country have not be sufficiently harnessed to achieve the desired prosperity.
He particularly advocated the implementation of well-meaning policies that will dismantle all the barriers to doing business while also promoting transparency and building investors’ confidence.
Prof. Moghalu said that added to fostering two location factors of developing requisite skills among the people and building enduring critical infrastructure, the foundation for good and competent governance should be assured to make the foreign direct investment (FDI) sought to benefit the country.
Prof. Moghalu said; “It is very important for us to understand that natural resources are not what made any country wealthy. If it were so, many countries in Africa will be very wealthy, instead they are poor. The reason is because when you have natural resources there are problems attached and if you are not careful you have resource curse than a boom.
“Everybody begins to play the politics of how they can have control of the natural resources and so the country becomes a gate keeper state because the natural resources are regarded as the gate and those who are in command of it, become the gate keepers.
“So this can distort the part of the development of any country and that is what Nigeria is going on in Nigeria today and many other African countries. Africa has 75% of global strategic minerals but with only 1% of global manufacturing.
“So Rivers State should keep these things in mind. The reason many African countries are poor is because they are poorly governed. This is the story of Nigeria today. 63 years after independence Nigeria is still crawling, we haven’t even stood on our feet to start walking, let alone to start running”.
Declaring the two-day summit open, State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, said that the state has created a more vibrant investment-friendly environment to reassure investors of requisite return on their investments.
He maintained that his administration was taking measures to ensure that those numerous production factories that shut down operations in the state resumed operations because of the renewed commitment to re-industralise the state.
The Governor insisted that the various measures taken were to make Rivers to emerge as the premiere investment destination for all categories of investors, saying: “We have already implemented certain policy initiatives and reforms, including the prompt allocation and issuance of land titles and certificates of occupancy to prospective investors and a moratorium on state taxes and levies on new businesses.
He lamented that for years, the Rivers State Government depended more on allocations from the Federation Accounts to fund its expenditures because tax revenues had remained low due to poor investments and economic growth.
The Governor stated that, “it is for this reason, that there is a resolve to build a resilient, robust, and diversified economy that will hold the key to sustainable peace, security and progress of our State and the spiritual, social, and physical well-being of our people.
“We, therefore, commit to the re-industrialisation of Rivers State in partnership with the informal and organised private sectors through necessary policies, legal, and other support measures, and systems.
“This was why we approved the Rivers State Economic and Investment Summit 2024 as the first of several measures to unveil the economic potential of the State to both local and foreign investors and markets.
Highlighting some of governmen’s efforts to encourage investors, the governor stated; “We are also working on the harmonization of state and local government taxes to eliminate double taxation and the imposition of multiple levies on investors.
“Two weeks ago, we launched the N4billion matching fund loan scheme with the Bank of Industry Limited for small, micro, and medium-scale businesses to drive financial inclusion and enhance the growth and development of these businesses to grow our economy, create jobs and wealth for our people.
“We have signed a development agreement with TAF Nigeria Limited for the construction of 20,000 mixed houses in the Greater Port Harcourt City. We signed another development pact with GOSH Nigeria Limited for the construction of an international automobile spare parts trading and commercial market,” he said.
Gov. Fubara added : “The State Government provided hundreds of hectares of land as its equity and work has since started at both sites. Apache Aluminium LLC of America has started the acquisition of land to establish a multi-billion-naira aluminium rolling mill (plant) in the Ogoni axis of Rivers State.
“We have opened discussions with Imagine Adama Agricultural and Technology of Israel to support the State in developing our huge agricultural potential, including reviving abandoned agricultural projects and infrastructures such as the Rivers Songhai Farm, the School-to-Land farms, fish farms, feed mills, oil palm estates and poultry farms across the State. We have earmarked about $10million for this project this fiscal year.
“Last week, the State Executive Council approved the proposal by Rainbow Heritage Group to build the New Port City in the State on about 1,000 hectares of land in collaboration with the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority.
“We have also concluded arrangements for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Planet One Holding Limited of Dubai for a $10million Mangrove Forests Conservation and Carbon Capture Project under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement”.
“Against this background, I feel very optimistic that Rivers State will emerge from this summit, and position itself as a premier investment destination, offering boundless economic opportunities for domestic and global investors,” he stressed.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Rivers State Internal Revenue Service, Dr Chibeoso Aholu, said the Rivers State Economic and Investment Summit 2024 represents a milestone in the journey towards economic growth and investment opportunities in the State.
Dr Aholu, who is also the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Summit, pointed to the theme of the summit, which is “Rivers Emerge: Advancing Pathways to Economic Growth and Sustainability”, and said that it is reflective of the collective aspirations to harness innovative strategies and sustainable practices for a thriving economic future.
He said, “We are living in an era of unprecedented change and opportunities, where global interconnectedness and technological advancements are reshaping the economic landscape.
“This summit is designed to explore these dynamic trends, foster insightful dialogues, and build strategic partnerships that will propel us into a prosperous future.”
