Ugwuanyi, Enelamah, Udeze urge FG to make business environment conducive as Enugu International Trade Fair begins

The 30th edition of the Enugu International Trade Fair has kicked off with an appeal to the Federal Government to support the development of basic infrastructure at the Enugu State Trade Fair Permanent Site and make the environment conducive for exhibitors and buyers at large.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi made the call on Friday while declaring open the Fair at the Trade Fair complex, Gulf Estate, GRA, Enugu.
Represented by his deputy, Hon. Cecilia Ezeilo, Ugwuanyi urged the Federal Government to bring the Enugu Trade Fair Complex to the same level with that of Lagos and Kaduna Trade Fair Complexes.
He said: “Enugu State is now rated second best on the ease of doing business. We are improving the ease of doing business to attract more investors to the state.”
In his goodwill message, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, represented by Emeka Ifezuluike, Senior Special Adviser in the ministry, said that the “Theme of this year’s fair, “Promoting and Enhancing Value in Addition in the Oil and Non-Oil Sector for Robust Economic Growth And Development”‘ was apt, chosen in line with the change mantra of the present administration.
He noted: “Our economic policies are geared towards promoting and enhancing value addition in the oil and non-oil sectors of the economy for robust economic growth and development as well as creating a conducive business climate to enhance investment inflow and industrialisation. This is aimed at ensuring that Made-in Nigeria products compete favourably with other products in the global market with the view to making Nigeria an economic hub in Africa.
“The government, in a bid to develop and promote the activities of MSMEs has expanded the number of participating agencies in the Nigerian Enterprises Development Programme(NEDEP) to include Nigeria Export Promotion Council Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission. “This is a pragmatic effort to tackle constraints experienced by MSMEs. The federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has put in place a serious committee to develop a road map and policy for the implementation of MSME’s ‘policy framework”.
The minister said that international trade fairs are aimed at improving and deepening economic and business relationship. The forum will provide a unique system where company executives and investors will foster commercial cooperation among individuals, groups and nations.
Earlier, in a welcome address, the President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Sir Emeka Udeze, noted that “despite all the challenges facing us in hosting trade fairs in this complex, we have been able to hold successfully nine editions from the 21st – 29th and yet gladly this year, the 30th edition.”
“We went an extra mile to task ourselves through credit leveraging to asphalt parts of the internal roads in the complex for more amenable environment to host our esteemed and highly valued participants and visitors at the fair”.
He appealed to the federal government to “optimise development of the Enugu International Trade Fair Complex as with the case of that of Lagos and Kaduna Trade Fair Complexes.”
He said that the theme of the fair is timely, adding that “This is the time for both the public and private sectors to seriously and meaningfully engage each other in removing the bureaucratic bottlenecks and overregularisation by government agencies to support the growth of the Small and Medium Enterprises and indeed, the industrial sector. They remain the bedrock of our productivity and output towards reviving the economy and stabilising it too. ”
Those who delivered goodwill messages included Iyalode Alaba Lawson, National President of the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) represented by Humphrey Ngonadi, chairman, Association of Anambra Chamber of Commerce, the Director-General of ECCIMA, Sir Emeka Okereke and Jasper Nduagwuike, Vice President, trade fair and chairman, trade fair planning committee among others.
Some participants at this year’s fair include Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Anammco, NDIC, NCC, NNPC, Access Bank, Dangote Group, Tummy Tummy, Enugu, Anambra State Government, Niger Optical, Ace laboratories Ltd and others.
The Fair will hold between April 5 and 15.