The organized private sector has charged government at all levels in the country to demonstrate political will in addressing impediments to doing business in the Niger Delta with a view to making the region more business-friendly.

This was the consensus reached by stakeholders drawn from the public and private sectors at the end of the 1st Quarterly Retreat 2022 of the Executive Council of the Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA) held between Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, 2022 at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The Two-Day Retreat was sponsored by Africa’s foremost gas firm, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and had in attendance the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nwankpa, National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, and Chairman, Bonny Local Government Area, Dame Anengi Wilcox.

Others were the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Igo Weli, President, BOCCIMA, Sir Amairigha Hart, and Assistant General Manager/Group Head, Private Sector at Zenith Bank, Mr. Emeka Nwigwe, amongst others.   

Presenting a paper: “Doing Business in the Niger Delta with Emphasis on Rivers State” during a Panel Discussion, Dr Membere-Otaji stated that political will was needed in tackling encumbrances to business success in the Niger Delta region, training and retraining the Niger Delta people, especially, the youths on business imperatives, and reviving moribund sea ports such as Port Harcourt, Warri, Calabar, and Sapele.

He further implored the government to encourage shipping companies to utilize the eastern ports and encourage aquaculture, fishing farming and other forms of agricultural and agro-processing businesses, stressing the need to bolster young chambers of commerce such as BOCCIMA to upscale their capacity to take on big budget investment opportunities.

On her part, the Special Guest of Honour, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nwankpa informed that the Governor Nyesom Wike led administration in the State was entrenching frameworks for enhancing ease of doing business in the State such as infrastructural development, strengthening of security, tax rebates and emplacing of legal frameworks to protect businesses, disclosing that the process was being coordinated by the State Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo.

Mrs. Nwankpa, who was accompanied by the Director, Trade and Commerce, Mr. Emmanuel Nwankwo, praised the BOCCIMA leadership for organizing the retreat, expressing the hope that the retreat would afford the executive Council the opportunity to restrategize, pointing out that the objective of the retreat will be defeated if not it was not well understood, adding that the retreat should change the narrative of progress and achievement for BOCCIMA.

BOCCIMA’s 1^st Vice President and Chairman of its host LGA, Bonny, Dame Anengi Wilcox stated that the business enhancement drive of her administration was anchored on two main pillars, Security and Sanitation, explaining that a secure and clean environment would accentuate the health of entrepreneurs who would also feel safe and healthy to pursue their business objectives.

On his part, the host and President of BOCCIMA, Sir Amairigha Hart thanked the various dignitaries for their presence and strategic input, which according to him, contributed to the success of the retreat, asserting that BOCCIMA would continue to remain a vocal advocate for the business community in Bonny LGA and beyond.

The BOCCIMA President called on the business community in Bonny LGA to coalesce to forge a common front in harnessing the boundless economic opportunities in Bonny and beyond, especially, the BOCCIMA vision of Bonny Beyond Oil and Gas, stressing that networking and supporting each other would enhance “our collective capacity to excel in our various areas of business”.   

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), through its General Manager, External Affairs, Mr. Igo Weli, represented by SPDC’s Community Relations Manager, Chief Otikidi Gbodo, commended the Bonny LGA Chairman for her efforts in enthroning a business-friendly atmosphere in the area, announcing that it was currently implementing its community content plan in Bonny, which entails ensuring that in all its contracts, community content is entrenched, expressing its positive disposition to collaborating with Bonny Kingdom to ensure businesses in Bonny LGA tap into its community content plan.

Advanced its pro-business disposition and support for small and medium scale enterprises, Zenith Bank, through its Group Head, Private Sector, Mr. Emeka Nwigwe enumerated the various credit facilities available on its stable for business to leverage, including the Z-Woman Loan facilities for women-owned businesses, which he said was the bank’s response to the clamour for the empowerment of women.

Nwigwe further disclosed that Zenith Bank loans have low and very friendly interest rates, urging BOCCIMA members, especially, the women to take advantage of them, asserting that his bank would continue to partner with BOCCIMA to provide targeted funding for its objectives and members.

Chairman of the Bonny Kingdom Local Content Compliance Committee (BKLCCC), Mr. Opuada Willie-Pepple was elated with the retreat, commending the organizers for a successful event, appealing to the BOCCIMA leadership to mainstream sensitization and awareness creation on the imperatives of collaboration and partnership, so Bonny businessmen and women can plug into opportunities available.

He harped on the need to change the mindset of Bonny people, both indigenes and business owners resident in the area, informing that there was an ongoing functional collaboration between the Bonny Local Government, Traditional Institution and other stakeholders in the area to improve business development and manage diversity in vendors management, assuring that the salary structure for construction projects in the area, popularly referred to as the ‘Bonny Bible’ will be updated to capture current economic realities.

The facilitator and Director General of BOCCIMA, Mrs. Constance Nwokejiobi, who thanked the Nigeria LNG for sponsoring the retreat, emphasized the need for strengthening the linkages between BOCCIMA, government at all levels, and the multinationals, stressing that such would ensure that the business community is able to access the limitless opportunities across the oil and gas sector of the economy.

Asserting that it was time to match action with words, the BOCCIMA DG noted that the Bonny Free Trade Zone, Asimini Line, Microfinance Bank, and BOCCIMA Business School, among others were deliverables through which opportunities would be mainstreamed, informing that the ‘Bonny Beyond Oil and Gas’ vision of BOCCIMA would serve as a plank for diversifying the Bonny economy, calling on all stakeholders to jump on the BOCCIMA agenda.

Delivering a paper on “Changing the Paradigm in the Relationship Between Oil and Gas Companies and Their Host Communities in the Niger Delta”, 2^nd Vice President of BOCCIMA, Mr. Dienye Pepple proposed a partnership brokering training for community leaders as a succinct response to the gaping disconnect between the oil and gas companies and their host communities.

According to Development Economist and Partnership Facilitator, the proposed partnership brokering training should encompass community development committee (CDC) members, women leaders, chiefs, and officials of other organizations involved in negotiating with oil and gas companies, expressing the optimism that this would go a long way in bridging the relationship gaps in the operational environments of the multinationals.  

At the end of the retreat, a communique, which captured the consensus on accentuating and amplifying processes aimed transforming the business outlook of Bonny Island integrating the interests of various stakeholders, BOCCIMA Three Years Strategic Business Plan for Bonny Kingdom, among other issues, was issued.