Fubara inaugurates Rivers maiden investment, promotion agency

Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has inaugurated the maiden governing board of the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) with a charge to create wealth and employment in the state.

The governor told members of the board to create a climate conducive to the growth of agriculture, manufacturing, small and medium enterprises and key services that would put Rivers’ economy on a competitive pedestal.

The governor, who inaugurated the six-man board on Monday at the Government House in Port Harcourt asked them to attract real investors across critical sectors to make Rivers self-sustaining.

Members of the board are Lawrence Fubara Anga, SAN, Chairman; Dr. Chamberlain Peterside as Director-General; and Mrs Tamunoibuemi Life-George, Secretary.

Others are Mr Goodliffe Nmekini, Barrister Havey Ideozu, and Baritor Lenusikpugi Kpagih, who were inaugurated to serve as members.

Fubara explained that Rivers State used to rank first in the comity of states in terms of productive economic activities, which attracted various business interests and made the state an investment haven.

Fubara said: “We might be celebrating, that yes, we have a very fat allocation. We have been able to improve our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), but we still have a lot to do; and, that has to do with this agency.

“The purpose of this agency is to give our people – to assure them, that Rivers State can still come back to that enviable position that it once occupied. Those people that were doing business in Rivers State that left, for one reason or the other – that they can still come back.

“We want to see people who intend to come back and invest because Rivers State is blessed – it has oil, the most important item for development today, which is gas, in abundance.

“Look at what is happening in Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout: We can make Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout come back to what it used to be. We can develop the resources that we have in Onne Town. We have Ogba-Egbema gas hub. These are part of the promises we made during our campaigns, and we must fulfil those promises”.

Fubara emphasised that the agency was established to rigorously harness economic and human potential to make Rivers the economic gateway and one-stop- shop for productive economic activities.

The governor said: “We have waited for this moment for a long time. It is a moment we all have been praying for because we want to leave a State that will be remembered: Rivers State that can compete, and Rivers State that can stand the test of time as a proud State.

“People that are coming here would begin to know that Rivers State is now serious. Rivers State is not about coming here and saying I want to take the side of maybe, I am interested in 10 percent or 20 percent of what you are coming with, that is not the purpose now.

“The purpose is to build our state. The purpose is to grow this State economically in such a way and manner that even if we don’t get federal allocation anymore, for example, we can still sustain ourselves (as a State) with our IGR.”

Fubara acknowledged that the board would encounter challenges and stiff opposition from those, who abhorred change but urged the members to brace up and be forthright in their quest to achieve their mandate.

The governor clarified that the board should not be preoccupied with people only interested in real estate, which he observed seemed to be the current drive.

Fubara said: “Not just issues of people coming to build houses and other things. I want your concentration to be more on agriculture, (manufacturing).

“Look to find people who are coming in to invest. People that are coming to build factories because it is only when we start production that employment issues will be resolved, (and we will witness an economic boom).

“So, please, those things that will solve the problem of unemployment, and promote the creation of wealth for the State should be your focus.

“The responsibility of this agency is going to be very challenging because I know they will want to fight back. But, I know that these crop of men and women have what it takes, and I am very convinced that they are going to lead Rivers State to where we want the State to be.

“The chairman of this agency is a private legal practitioner and a businessman who has made his name. Let me say it here: let it be on record that I had to beg him to accept the offer. I even had to send emissaries to him to plead with him.

“He said he doesn’t want to get involved with any political thing. I said this is not about politics. You live in Lagos, you have made your name in Lagos. Please, come and help us. We need help, Rivers State needs to be salvaged.”

In his acceptance speech, Chairman of the Board, Lawrence Fubara Anga, SAN, said they considered their appointment as an opportunity to serve the state.

He said: “This is the time, whether we like it or not, to many people, it is a time to want to despair. It is a time of problems, and it is also a time of challenges. And everybody has an option: your cup can either be half-full, or half-empty.

“But Your Excellency has decided that the cup of Rivers State shall be full. For every challenge, there is an opportunity. And what His Excellency has done is to tell us: go and look for those opportunities.

“The charge is to restore it (State) to be the ‘Treasure Base of the Nation. The charge is to make Rivers State’s economy probably the 10th or 12th largest economy in Africa, standing on its own. The charge is to turn Rivers State into the Dubai of Africa. That is what you have told us to do.”