In its bid to attract investment and grow its economy, Enugu State government has committed to de-risking the state’s business environment in order to make it an investment haven for investors.
The government hopes that making the state a business-friendly environment will create better economic outcomes that will help to realise the present administration’s vision of growing its present $4.4 billion GDP to $30 billion GDP to be driven by private sector investment.
Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, MD /CEO, Enugu State Investment Development Authority, gave these hints at the public sector consultative meeting to review the state’s 2024 Business Enabling Reforms Action Plan (BERAP) organised by the Authority, Office of the State Focal Person on Ease of Doing Business Reforms and the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) in Enugu.
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Declaring the event open, Ogbu-Nwobodo, who also doubles as the Focal Person on Ease of Doing Business Reforms and SABER, said the programme was being jointly run by the World Bank, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), and the state governments, noting that Enugu had already keyed into it.
He highlighted the philosophy of the Governor Peter Mbah’s administration as transparency, traceability and accountability, disruptive innovation, optimal performance, as well as participatory monitoring and evaluation.
While assuring tax payers that their money would be put to judicious use for the good of the state, the MD identified e-governance and transparency as the bedrocks of Governor Mbah’s administration.
He said the state was creating a grievance resolution mechanism where investors could lodge complaints or make requests about their businesses and demand solutions through the One Stop Investment Centre at the state investment house in line with government’s commitment to promoting small and medium enterprises as well as agriculture in order to boost the state’s GDP.
Ogbu-Nwobodo said the Draft Enugu State Business Enabling Reforms Action Plan (BERAP)-2024, which consists of eight business-enabling reform areas, was aimed at improving the business environment in the state by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and improving the ease of doing business for the private sector in keeping with the transparency mantra of Governor Mbah’s administration.
During the interactive session, participants drawn from the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture(ECCIMA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture(NCCIMA), Enugu Coalition of Business and Professional Associations (ECOBPA) and 9th Mile Chamber of Commerce, Industries,Mines and Agriculture(9CCIMA) among others, commended Governor Mbah’s administration for its proactive efforts at turning the fortunes of the state around and promised to partner with the administration.
Key stakeholders at the event included the DG, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Uchechukwu Mbah; DG Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Uchenna Nnadi; Vice Chairman, Enugu Coalition of Business and Professional Associations (ECOBPA), Onyekachi Ezeugwu; President, 9th Mile Chamber of Commerce and former President, International Right of Way, Nigeria Chapter, L.C.K Ugwu.
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Others were President, Small and Medium-Term Enterprises Promotion and Training Associations (SEPTA), Christopher Amadi; and President, Association of Non-Bank Microfinance Institution of Nigeria (ANMFIN), Emmanuel Aroh.
