SUN NEWS

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State at the weekend, said his administration has provided the enabling environment for investment to thrive in the past six and years.

The governor spoke in Asaba while declaring open the 2022 Investment Conference organised by the Anioma People Development Think Tank (APEDETT) with the theme: ‘Appraising the Enablers and Drivers of Investment in Anioma.’

Represented by the chairman of Delta Investment and Development Agency (DID A), Paul Nmah, Okowa said the state was very safe with adequate infrastructure that serve as enablers to engender the ease of doing business.

He added that his administration has deepened institutional frameworks as the vital drivers that ensure seamless operations of investors in the state.

“Consistent with our Medium Term Development Plan, we have extended the frontiers of rural-urban integration and urban renewal through massive infrastructural development.

“In terms of policies and systems, we took measures to facilitate ease of land acquisition by prospective investors,” the governor said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, national president of APEDETT, Ikeazor Akaraiwe (SAN), said the group had measures in place to ensure that the outcome of the conference was implemented for the economic prosperity of Anioma nation and the entire state.

Akaraiwe said apart from submitting the communiqué from the conference to relevant stakeholders, there would be strategic engagement with the stakeholders to ensure that the outcome does not gather dust in government shelves.

He however cited the lopsided structure of the Nigerian federation as a major challenge against it’s implementation.

“I must warn that we are probably going to be one-third successful with the things we are seeing, the remaining two-third requires the restructuring of this country.

“How can we access the gas reserves in Kwale? We cannot. How can we deal with railway lines? How can we deal with creation of ports in the 160 nautical miles of shoreline of Delta State? We cannot do it, the government of Delta State cannot do it.

“Many of this things are long term. So we will have to agitate to return to the first republic status of the federating units of Nigeria where the units were in control of their minerals, and pay a tax of 50% to the federation.

“We have to agitate, APEDETT is going to play it’s role and synergise with all other groups to agitate that the way Nigeria is to become a prosperous nation is devolution of power.

“Is it not ridiculous that the exclusive legislative list has 68 items, and the concurrent list where the states have influence, has 12 items?

“However, that which we can do, we will do through engagement with relevant authorities and agencies so that it will not just be a talk shop but an action shop,” he said.

Welcoming participants earlier, chairman of the conference, Afam Obiago said APEDETT espouses a development think tank with the capacity of transforming the social and economic landscape of Anioma part of Delta State in particular and the entire state in general.

Obiago described Anioma as a microcosm of Delta State with its cultural and traditional differentials and also peculiarities in economic endowments, which gives different comparative advantage to different parts of the state.

“This conference in my opinion will drill down on those areas where Anioma has a comparative advantage and will seek to attract investment in those areas while taking a holistic view of Delta State,” he noted.

He assured that the outcome of the conference would lead to increased investment with a positive impact on employment and job creation, and subsequently, a reduction of poverty from the current 46% average rate in Anioma part of Delta State to a more tolerable level.