Rivers State has created its first ever investment promotion agency known as the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) which was recently signed into an executive order. In this exclusive interview, the pioneer Director-General, Chamberlain Peterside, a Wall Street finance practitioner and former commissioner for finance in Rivers State, told IGNATIUS CHUKWU how the new agency is fast stimulating huge investor appetite in the state’s low hanging fruits. He revealed how they want to create ease of doing business, making Rivers an investor choice. He talked about the battle against negative perception of the state, among others. Excerpts:
Kindly help our readers understand your profile that qualified you to this sensitive position?
My name is Dr. Chamberlain Peterside, the Director-General of the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA). I have dropped my cap as a captain of the private sector to now put on the cap of the public sector since August 19, 2024. That is where my focus is now.
Can you recap your journey since your days as Commissioner for Finance in Rivers State?
My journey didn’t start from being Commissioner of Finance in Rivers State. Before then, I was involved in the private sector where I was actually of WallStreet working in the global private group of Merrill Lynch in New York City (a wealth creation management group). I transitioned from there to operating an advisory firm called New Era Capital from where I began to get involved in relationships and transactions that are focused on Africa. This is what led to some of the services we rendered to the state (Rivers State), what we call the Credit Rating Advisers for Rivers State. We helped the state obtain the first dual international credit rating. Rivers State was the first to obtain this; which was from Fitch and Standard & Poor (S&P). No state has that. Lagos that had international rating didn’t have two. That transitioned us to working very closely with Africa, Nigeria, and Rivers State. By 2008, I became a member of the Rivers State Economic Advisory Team. I also served as Finance Commissioner. That has been my journey and we ended that journey in 2015, and I transitioned back to the private sector where we run our operations in Lagos. And, now again, I have been called upon to head the investment promotion agency, that is the RSIPA. That is the outline of my journey so far.
If the work and trajectory you were involved in for Rivers State had progressed to this time, where do you think the state would have progressed to?
Every society progresses at its own pace. I think the policies and activities that were pursued at that point made sense because it helped the state a lot. The state had a very sound financial standing and was rated. The purpose of that rating was to qualify to raise funds in the capital market. The state was about to launch a large bond issuance programme: N100bn bond as at 2011 (when one Dollar was N149) which at that time was significant amount. The state didn’t get it though it did all that was required to meet the conditionalities. Despite this, the state still built many assets and invested heavily in infrastructure, in education, and in services. Now, in 2014, the global economic climate began to decline and that resulted in general slowdown which became more severe in 2015. A new administration came into the space and when a new administration comes, things most likely take a different direction. No matter how you wish the state to have progressed, when a new administration takes over, they do their own thing. Governments come and go. When there is change, there must be impact on the pace of progress.
With administrative instability in states such as Rivers, how do planners like you engage states and how does this affect level of confidence?
There is no doubt that political activities affect businesses and it affects investor and consumer sentiments. There is no doubt that this results to maybe slower pace of decision-making. This has been seriously impacted by the political situation in Rivers State, no two ways about it.
…perception problem:
That said, we believe in our hearts that there is a perception problem. It is this; when negative news turns away positive investment. There may be hope for an investment but just a day to go, one big negative news, and this outweighs the positive investment. So, we will focus on the positives to address the negative perception that may persist that are not always correct. People may have the perception that Port Harcourt is not save, but you know that is not totally true. We have a general story telling challenge. Some places may not be better secured than Rivers State but they do not get as much knocks as Rivers State, they get away with it.
So, we have to work hard to ensure that the information the public gets that will shape public opinion will be correct to attract investors. We will have robust engagement with investors, bring them down, show them that they can actually invest and walk on a faster pace and get rewards for their investments. We make it much easier to take investment decisions so that the few that take up the opportunities and succeed would be models and examples to others who would say, wow, this is good. If you don’t do that, or leave it to chance, unfortunately, only the political news, the negatives, will be out there, and that won’t be right for us in terms of building the economy and attracting investors. So, we are taking deliberate actions to address the negative perception of Rivers State.
Is there information lacuna that may have been identified and how do you want to address it?
The gap may exist, but it’s not our job to run the information architecture of the state. Our job is to help in ease of doing business. Our job is to drive positive narrative about the state, to dispel the wrong perception that the public have about the state. We believe that the other agencies that are mandated with coverage of the state and information management would be busy doing their job as we do ours. We do not change the way others do their jobs.
What do you think is your task as a pioneer Director-General of the RSIPA?
We are here to help promote business and investment. We are here to help attract investments into the state. We are here sensitise and coordinate the flow of investments into the state. We are charged with helping to make it easier to do business here; whether you are a new business or old one; whether you are an investor with foreign direct investment (FDI) or with domestic investment. It is our job to make it easier for you. It is already tough to operate in the Nigerian terrain, to be very frank, and harder to consider the sub-nationals like Rivers. So, we want to make it easier for you to make investment options and choose to invest in Rivers State because you think it’s a friendly place to do business, it is an environment that is efficient that can help you take decisions and ease your pains in getting permits, getting licenses, or getting approvals.
We do face the fact that something as simple as getting your Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) can be a dauting task because some people have complaints. That notwithstanding, we have seen a big proactive pace of housing development going on in the state, housing estates going up everywhere. That is notwithstanding the difficulties. Can you imagine if we made it easier for people to get C-of-Os or we make it easy for people to get approvals for businesses, or we harmonise all that is required for you to come in and investment with the one-stop-shop centre! It will be phenomenal!!
Our job is to help coordinate that process, make it easier, and to drive the growth of the internally generated revenue (IGR) and move the economy forward. Where the IGR is now is factor and function of the operators. The more operators you have, the more likely that you have more IGR, the less of hassles in your environment; less of multiplicity of taxes and levies and payments and marching ground. If you are able to eradicate them or reduce it, trust me, you will see a rapid pace of economic growth. It will lead to job creation, GDP growth, better lives, improved standards, etc. So, our task is well laid out, but it is actually on different levels.
We are taking it one step at a time, knowing that the end result is to create value for Rivers State.
Are there specific challenges such a new agency could face?
The first challenge we are facing squarely is what we call creating institutional framework. The Executive Order was signed on as a board on August 19, 2024. Since then, its three months now. We have had board meetings and the board has very many reputable and renowned professionals from many sectors; legal space, IT, etc. So, creating the solid institutional framework, and more importantly, getting the right kind of human capital that is efficient and focused is the main challenge. It is a public entity but not the typical public sector agency, you might say. So, we should be able to build and operate fast and efficiently. We should be able to build a place that is very customer-friendly. Sometimes, you don’t find this typically in public service but we need to work hard on ourselves to create this kind of environment. It is quite a challenge especially as the agency is new.
You have to crawl first, walk, then run. At the stage we are, we have gone beyond crawl, now walking on our two feet, which is good. The board has been very supportive. We have done a lot of work looking at the concept note, the strategies, etc, and they have given their ultimate support. We have a timeframe of between three and six months in which we think that the Agency should be operational, the one-stop-shop should be operational, the key staff in different areas should be operational, then the sequence of operations should be established. It takes a sequence because there is a method to the madness. You approach us and have to know what the process is to be able to address your matter; get your needs, take your proposal from the step one to step two, and so on. That process is ongoing. We think that in the next three months which should be six months from our time of formation, we should be able to address this.
Are people who rejoiced that the days of extortion by middlemen claiming to act for the governor real?
Yes, the fear is real, and that is the problem we face in Africa; in terms of getting things or investments done in government. My understanding is that there should be minimum impediment for an investor who wants to spend his or her money. You want to invest, you want to create value, create jobs, you want to help contribute to the internally generated revenue (IGR) and boost the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country through Rivers State, why should anybody demand for an incentive to do that? That should be absolutely wrong and we do not share in that philosophy at all. In the past, it has been quite a challenge and right down when I was in the ministry and I have had to ask; somebody has a bright idea but how do they get it through if they don’t have access to the governor? Most times, it is not only at the governor’s office but you have to know someone who knows someone who gets something through. That is wrong. So, government did absolutely the right thing to set up this agency. Right now, as I speak, we just finished a meeting with a group of investors. Anytime and anywhere proposal now comes to the governor, he just sends out to the Agency, which is the right thing to do, and the agency deals with matters with dispatch. We do not look at your face or your ethnicity. You do not have to worry about extortion. My phone number is always there, same over the years. If you are an investor, you call me any hour. If it is too late, you will hear from me the next day. I am accessible and there is no quid pro quo (extortion, money for service) in doing business with the Agency. I think that is a lot of confidence-building. It is also an effort toward addressing that negative perception and impressions that people have that one needs to do something or give something before your approval comes out. The truth is, it will be quite a challenge to build an institutional framework that would ensure that we do not condone that kind of malfeasance. It is a culture that has to develop roots in the Agency. If you get that right, it will become a norm. If you build a culture of efficiency, discipline and focus and integrity, you can run with and run very far. It may take time but the perception of you in the public begins to go ahead of you easily and over time, they will say, oh just go there and follow the process. The question no would be: does the proposal make sense? Is it valid? If after due diligence it is considered to be valid, it will be presented to the board and after that the state executive council. If it does not pass this test, if it is fishy, we will not waste time to shoot it down and not waste time on it. The owner of any failed proposal would however know clearly why it failed and that it was not because he did not give anything. The person would know it quickly that the proposal did not fly.
What are the hanging fruits before the RSIPA?
Very good question. We have had to conduct initial assessment or initial audit of existing assets and investments of the state in the past. For instance, we have companies that shut down such as Nigerian Engineering Works (NEW), the West African Glass Industry (WAGI), the Pabod Brewery (which the state later successfully divested but now to Inter Brew). We think that a similar model can be used such as the Airport Hotel which has been down for so long. We are beginning to see interests. The state does not have to rebuild it but we can entertain investments and concession it out to be up and running. We have had government owned companies that have been concessioned out such as RISONPALM and Spar which was the first shopping mall in eastern Nigeria built in the 1960s. It was burnt down during the war but an investor picked it up and rebuilt it into success today. That is a classic model of taking existing assets, turning them around, partnering with investors for concession. We are still at other assets. Take Trans-Amadi Industrial Area where you have warehouses most of which have shut down. Some have companies that are not functioning anymore, but you must know that Trans-Amadi is the largest industrial estate east of the Niger. It has a 20megawatt power plant, a gas reticulation network, etc. It is a ready-made hub. Right now, the Nigerian Railway Corporation has revamped their rail line which is behind Trans-Amadi. This is a serious logistics support that can help evacuate products. What is left for the government to do is to put out the information out there and hopefully find the right strategy to attract manufacturing in agro-produce sector, oil and gas, value added manufacturing. We all know a lot of the manufacturing entities that had existed there such as Eastern Wrought Iron Limited, Amalgamated Distilleries, NEW, WAGI, Pabod Brewery, Nigerian Bottling Company (operating successfully), RIVOC is coming back gradually, and oil and gas companies. We think that on the basis of existing facilities, most of those warehouses may not belong to government but we will see how we can partner with the owners to structure lease agreements and concession arrangements to attract investors who can take over. That is a template upon which things can be done especially in manufacturing. That is one low hanging fruit.
You didn’t mention the Songhai Farms?
Well, the Rivers State Songhai Farms Initiative (RSFI) is in the agro-sector. By the way, manufacturing is a job creator and it adds much to the GDP, but agro-sector is also critical, in fact, it is number one priority of the governor. A flagship of that sector is the Songhai Farm, which was an excellent demonstration farm which was built by one of the previous administrations. Thankfully, the governor has set up a committee to revive it. That as far as I am concerned is low of the low hanging fruits in the agro sector that can help build capacity not only for out-growers but for processing, job creation, and food security. Yes, Songhai Farm is there and a few other farms we have in Etche etc and the Cassava Processing Plant in Oyigbo. These are opportunities that already exist that could be exploited to take the state to the next level.
We have the rice plantation abandoned in Emohua LGA. You can get them back up to speed if we pay attention to it, and we are getting proposals so we can see what we can do there. In no time, in quick succession, you will begin to see deals signed and arrangements entered into by the state subject to board approvals to bring back to life brown field (existing) investments to bring them back to life and to put in place new investments. See, while new investments look much more difficult, but what you have is very easy. You just go there, do a few things, and roll out.
How big is this $300m deal signed by the state government recently?
Look, $300m is big by any standard. It’s going to have tremendous impact and is no joke. What it does to the economy is big because it will help in environmental management in a modern system. You will not have to manage waste the way it is done today, but you are collecting it, processing it and converting it to power and wealth. You know that wealth is a big business in advanced countries and in this day and age where environmental consciousness has become very critical, we have not, unfortunately, paid enough attention to this. We think this is well timed. It is coming at a time when we should be doing way more. Port Harcourt is a big metropolis. You can imagine that we are still carting away waste from households and industrial sites to go and dump somewhere in 2024 (this era). It is unimaginable. That should not be the situation.
What would the company that signed the deal be doing actually?
When you collect waste, you take them to sorting centre. There, the waste would be in categories. You will treat them according to their categories. Some you decompose and turn them to manure, some to recycle. You can burn some and the carbon dioxide generated can generate power for you. It’s a full cycle of utilizing what we think is waste to wealth. The carbon footprint you get from there will yield revenue.
Any advice for the governor?
It is not my duty to advise him. My duty is to serve in the area he appointed me. In my capacity as the DG which the governor has graciously appointed us, and he is looking up to us, very keenly. He has much confidence in this Agency based on the calibre of persons he appointed. So, any time he speaks on it, he makes reference to it and asks those who have proposals to send them there. He is constantly minuting documents and proposals to us. He is giving us all the boost we can get. We now have to justify this confidence. We do not begin to give him advice on how he should govern. He is the Chief Executive of the State and we are working hard to make sure that the tasks assigned to us are carried out judiciously and efficiently.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
