Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (ONICCIMA) in its determination to reposition as a leading Chamber in Anambra has registered 38 new members within the last one year.
President of the Chamber, Sir Chris Ukachukwu, who disclosed this during the 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held yesterday, in Onitsha Anambra State, said the numerical growth of the Chamber was as a result of the vision to continually improve on the figures and attract seasoned members to be part of the Chamber movement. He said the Chamber is also extending invitation to various professional bodies to take up membership of the chamber so as to bridge the gap in areas the chamber was lacking with regards to advocacy and the Onitsha business community. He restated the commitment of the chamber under his leadership to its core mandate around business advocacy, advisory services, information dissemination, workshops, seminars, trade missions, visa procurement and related interventions.
Ukachukwu described the year as a challenging period for the chamber owing to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that despite the setback, there have been modest achievements recorded by the chamber. He disclosed that the chamber has floated the publication of a periodic business digest newspaper known as ONICCIMA Business Digest to educate, inform and entertain both members and the Onitsha business community as a whole.
This. he said, is in addition to the bold initiative of building of a new chamber secretariat for ONICCIMA which he said remains another top priority for his leadership. He said the AGM was deliberately held at the building under construction to show members the extent of work and the desire to bequeath a lasting legacy to the chamber.
The 1st Deputy Vice President of the chamber, Sir Kevin Obieri, who noted that ONICCIMA deserves a befitting secretariat commended those who have given financial support to the project and called on others to fully support efforts at actualising the project.