Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission positions PH Chamber for foreign investment

Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC has positioned Port Harcourt chamber of commerce for valuable collaborations, saying it will facilitate submission of viable and bankable project profiles of PHCCIMA members for matchmaking with foreign investors. Similarly it has requested database of credible and serious businesses in Rivers State to ensure they benefit from support and incentives of the commission.

This was made known when the President of Port Harcourt chamber of commerce, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji led a business delegation to the office of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission in Abuja, as part of his administration’s continued effort to open new vistas and frontiers that will help realize set objectives and meet the needs and aspirations of the Chamber membership.

 Speaking during the visit, Dr. Membere-Otaji had congratulated the Ag. Executive Secretary of the Commission, Ms. Ladi Katagum on her appointment, stating that the visit to NIPC by the PHCCIMA business delegation was in response to the national call for diversification of the economy occasioned by the current national economic depression, brought about by the sudden collapse of oil revenue affecting not just PHCCIMA members but others doing business in the oil and gas sector.

Hear him: “PHCCIMA as a Chamber have come to identify with the clarion call for diversification, hence we are here seeking collaborations with NIPC on how to harness opportunities to diversify members businesses and uplift them to the next level of increased business activity and volume”.

He disclosed that Port Harcourt was created over 100years ago as a shipping hub for easy exportation of goods such as coal, agricultural produce etc but regretted the abandonment of this statute since the emergence of oil & gas. Other members of the delegation who spoke commended the One Stop Investment Centre of NIPC, calling for investment on intellectual properties, creating enabling environment for businesses to thrive and relaxing stringent policies that inhibit outflow of funds including the removal of impediments to exports like high tariffs at the ports.

Responding, the Ag. Executive Secretary Ms. Ladi Katagum expressed happiness in receiving the PHCCIMA business delegation, stating that the visit was long overdue because Chambers of Commerce as the mouthpiece of the organised private sector is the reliable partner of NIPC. She introduced NIPC as a federal government agency established to encourage, promote and coordinate investments in the Nigerian economy, noting that NIPC  mission statement is anchored on “taking Nigeria beyond oil”.

The NIPC boss in her remark said “the agency is open to collaboration with PHCCIMA especially in its statutory objective of; effectively promoting Nigeria’s investment potentials, efficient facilitation of investments to fast-track entry processes, advocacy for favourable and stable investment environment, provision of technical advice on linkages, joint venture partnerships, provision of information on investment incentives and coordination of the One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC)”.