…As state holds international investment summit in Johannesburg

By Rita Ejesieme

Recently, several eminent Nigerians and South Africans converged on the Protea Wanderers Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa. They were there to participate in the Anambra State International Investment & Tourism Summit (AIITS),

The event, attended by a number of investors and other stakeholders, was a forum to ventilate ideas and discuss the Anambra State Government’s agricultural and industrial revolution.

Dr. Charles Okereke, Chief Executive Officer of Legendary Digest, a leading investment and tourism magazine based in the state, was the chief organiser of the summit. In his opening address, he commended the vision of the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, noting that the governor was determined to turn Anambra State to the Dubai of Africa. He said Obiano’s vision was what motivated him to identify with the governor’s investment drive.

Okereke, a cleric and geoscientist, said his media outfit would continue to sell Anambra State to the world through the quarterly publication of the magazine as well as through the international investment summit which he said would be on rotational basis.
Representative of Governor Obiano at the event, Stella Onuorah, a lawyer, said the governor was committed to achieving a new Anambra State that would become the envy of all.

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Onuorah, who is Anambra State Commissioner for Diaspora Matters, Culture and Tourism, said the government was grateful to the organisers just as she assured the gathering of government’s continued partnership and support.
Consul-General of the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke
delivered the keynote address at the event. She noted that the economic policy of the state government being promoted by the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, was to, among others, stimulate economic growth, create jobs and turn the state into an urban area through a sustained drive for profitability. She explained that the Anambra State Investment Promotion & Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) was an outcome of that effort.

The diplomat, who is a member of the Governing Council of ANSIPPA, lauded the Legendary Digest for supporting the state’s investment drive, even as she urged intending investors and prospective partners with the state government to subscribe to the publication.
In his paper on investment opportunities in Anambra State, Chief Executive Officer of ANSIPPA, Hon. Joe Billy Ekwunife asked all genuine investors and stakeholders to take advantage of the incentives provided by the state government and invest in the many untapped resources that abound in the state. These, he noted, included the Ogbunike Cave, Owelle- Ezukala Cave & Waterfalls, and the Igbo Ukwu Museum, among others.

Ekwunife said ANSIPPA was a deliberate creation of the government to facilitate the repositioning of Anambra State as the first choice investment destination and preferred location for new industries in Nigeria. He said the agency was committed to helping the governor make a huge success of his four-point agenda in agriculture, industrialization, trade and commerce and oil and gas. He said all bureaucratic bottlenecks had been dismantled, insisting that “investment agreements can now be finalised while you wait in the coffee room.”
CEO of South Africa/Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Diana Games expressed delight at the opportunities provided by the initiative. She was optimistic that the platform would assist in strengthening the solid business tie that already existed between Nigeria and South Africa.

In attendance were captains of industries, members of the South Africa/Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, diplomats, people from the academia, including Dr. Nkem Mbamel of the City University, New York, Minister, Trade & Investment at the Nigeria High Commission, Pretoria, Okee Nze and Kwanele Ndlovu of Doctors Without Borders.

The occasion was rounded off with the presentation of different categories of awards to some of the eminent personalities at the event. Governor Obiano, Commissioner for Diaspora Matters, Culture and Tourism, Stella Onuorah, CEO of ANSIPPA, Hon. Joe Billy Ekwunife, Consul General of the Nigeria Consulate, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke and Prof H. Uzoegbu of the Wits University all received awards for leadership. Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Veronica Obiano was also garlanded for her role in empowering many women across the state.
Others that also received awards were Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, Prince Arthur Eze and Dr. Cosmas Maduka. They all got Entrepreneurship Awards. Willy Okpara, the Nigeria International, was given the Soccer Ambassador Award. Mazi Wisdom Edward Okoli was honoured with an award as the first Nigerian commercial farmer in South Africa while Chief Emeka Ekwealor, a business mogul and Director of Legendary Digest, was also honoured with an award.
Presenting the vote of thanks, Chief Emeka Ekwealor, an international businessman, thanked the participants for the attendance. He pledged that the Legendary Digest would be fully supportive of the Anambra State Governor in the pursuit of his vision for a new Anambra State.

Editor of the magazine, Mazi Ben Benson-Okoli , who spoke with journalists after the event, assured that his team would continue to be fair and objective.

“We will be meticulous in the research, assemblage and presentation of the various elements that will combine to give our publication a unique look,” he asserted.