As part of measures put in place to create an enabling environment for investments and businesses to thrive in the state, Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, Thursday, inaugurated the Enugu State Ease-of-Doing-Business Council, saying his administration has intervened across various indicators of ease of doing business.
Inaugurating the 25-man Council at Government House, Enugu, Governor Mbah, who is also the Chairman of the Counc, said the move aligns with his electoral promise to grow the economy of the state from $4.4bn to $30bn by repositioning it as the premier destination for business, investment, tourism and living.
He explained that investors were not Father Christmas and would naturally tilt to where there is conducive environment and higher return on investment.
“Recall that one of the first activities that I performed after my swearing was to sign Executive Order 005, which speaks to Ease of Doing Business. It largely tells us that we cannot achieve the ambitious economic growth plan that we have given ourselves if we do not attract private investments.
Pix: Gov Mbah( m) and members of the Council.
“Therefore, for us as a state government, this Ease-of- Doing-Business Council is consistent with our objectives to ensure that we create an environment for businesses to thrive.
“If you look at all the key indicators of Ease of Doing Business, you would notice that we have aggressively intervened across those various indicators,” he said.
Highlighting the indicators that had been addressed, Governor Mbah listed ease of access to land through the establishment of the Enugu State Geographic Information Systems, ENGIS, and establishment of a one-stop shop for processing of permits, the investments in ultramodern security infrastructure, building of transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and skilled manpower as some of the strategic steps taken to ease up the business in Enugu State.
“So, as the chairman of the council, we will all work hard to ensure that we come close as a state to become frontiers of the Ease of Doing Business,” he concluded.
Speaking to newsmen, the 2ND Deputy President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dr. Eric Chime, who represented the president and the body, described the council as another great leap for Enugu State under Governor Mbah’s leadership.
“The Chairman, who is the Governor, has stated all he has done to make Enugu State attract investment. What we are going to do is to be the wagon that will carry this message and let investors come. Enugu is the safest place to invest.
“Any investor that you want to tell to come, they will ask you about security first. If you are talking about security, the governor has taken care of it. If you talk about technology, the governor has taken care of it; infrastructure, the governor has taken care of it. So, our job is to take the good message and attract investors to the state because Enugu is a safe haven,” he said.
On his part, the President of the Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Barr. Sam Otobueze, commended Governor Mbah for his efforts to align Enugu State with global standards to attract businesses.
“This is a very wonderful initiative. The world economy is changing, and the best way to get into it and be recognised is what we are doing because the more we attract businesses and investments into the state, the better for us. The more we get to the world map as one of those states you can go and invest in business, the better for us,” he said.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama.