Excitement as Rivers hybrid One-Stop-Centre unveiled to boost ease of doing business

The clamour over the decades for one place where investors and businesses can clear all regulatory matters has been fulfilled.

The excitement within the business community in Rivers State rose very high Thursday, March 6, 2025, evening when the Rivers State One-Stop-Centre was unveiled.

This is said to be a big foundation to take off of ease of doing business in Rivers State, capital of the South-South Nigeria.

The unveiling took place at the Atlantic Hall of the Hotel Presidential by the seven-month-old Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) which held its first interaction session with the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in the state.

Welcoming the teeming number of investors and business owners, the chairman of RSIPA, Lawrence Fubara Anga, said the event marked the continuing engagement with the business community in the state.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of no mean status made it clear that RIPA was not in competition with other government agencies neither was it an implantation agency but one to work with the other agencies to create ease of doing business.

He made it clear the mandate of RIPA is to fasten business activities and provide the best climate for businesses to thrive, all in the bid to make Rivers State an investment haven.

He mentioned areas of investment focus for Rivers State at the moment as agric, tourism, entertainment, power, renewable energy, and SMEs. He said big businesses were important but small businesses were the major focus.

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Giving a rundown of the operational cycle of RIPA, Chamberlain Peterside, the Director-General, who was once the commissioner of finance in the state and an investment expert, talked about the need to create level playing grounds in Rivers State.

He reiterated the determination of the Gov Sim Fubara administration to promote ease of doing business and said the best tool is the One-Stop-Centre (OSC) being unveiled at the evening event.

Showing how RIPA would guide investors and create an experience for them in the state, Peterside said the agency would ride on technology to create a hybrid centre that would operate both digitally and manually. He said what makes such a centre to thrive is availability of all regulatory agencies in one place so the investor would not need to hunt agencies down or deal with a multiplicity of them.

What makes Rivers State unique now is that investors from anywhere in the world can now treat matters without needing to come physically all the time.

The highly attended event seemed to downplay the political tension in the state over the Supreme Court rulings and threats of instability rumbling in the clouds.

Most OPS leaders at the event welcomed the coming of the investment agency and the emergence of the One-Stop-Centre. Chinyere Nwoga, first female president of the Port Harcourt City Chamber (PHCCIMA), welcomed the centre and observed that Rivers State has numerous investment opportunities that would require robust government policies to develop. She expressed the enthusiasm of the PHCCIMA to work with the state government to exploit the resources of the state.

In her observation, Constance Nwokejiobi, President of the Bonny Chamber of Commerce (BOCCIMA), harped on the criticality of the existence of the RIPA and revealed the tremendous support the agency gave to BOCCIMA recently when trying to conclude a deal with the Caribbean group.

The fellow of the chartered accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) urged the business sector to embrace the RIPA for huge benefits ahead.

Ofon Udofia, executive secretary of the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM) raised issues on high tariffs in the Port Harcourt ports that tend to escalate costs in the state.

Others raised concerns on multiple taxes by local councils in the state while the issue of certificates of occupancy (CofO) were raised.

Government officials explained the details and said Gov Fubara does not allow CofO papers to last a day on his desk. Officials from the Ministry of Lands explained what causes delay and the wrong steps taken often by land owners.