Fron Blessing Douglas, Port Harcourt
To ensure an economic stability and speedy development of Rivers State, an entrepreneur and convener of Rivers Unity House Foundation (UHF), Mr Kingsley Wali has called for an economic summit in the state that will foster ideas that will achieve the needed target for the development.
Wali said the summit would provide basis for linkages for businesses and investors, saying that It will help the government and investors have conversations beyond constructions and award of contracts to what enhances commerce.
The convener of UHF who made the call, during a parley with journalists in Port Harcourt, said the summit is part of measures to change the negative narratives of Rivers State, calling on government and the media to support the private initiative to convoke the summit.
He expressed frustration that good governance and the dividends of democracy have taken flight in the state due to the political crisis between the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
“Let us just have a conversation about holding an economic summit. It will help put aside all of these politics. We play too much politics in Rivers State. So, we must have a conversation.”
According to Wali” No investor both local or foreign will risk a dime in Rivers State under the never ending negative narrative of the toxic political tussle between Wike and Fubara in both local and foreign media”
“We should have a talking programme where all of these issues will be discussed. The basis for the summit is not for people to come and talk. There should be linkages and part of the linkages is for both the public and private sector to share their inputs so the government will open their safety valves.
“At the summit, we can draw a development plan, a 10-year development plan and part of the conversation will be how to protect the plan. There can be a legislation that anyone who goes against the plan will be tried for economic sabotage”.
He re-emphasied that no serious potential Investors would come to the state do business in the present rancorous political atmosphere.
“So if we have a plan, we use the Shonghai farm, and bring the banks to fund those and similar projects. The private sector brings in their inputs, seek safety valve like a development plan that can get them to bring their money to run establishments like Songhai farm.
Wali, also a politician blamed the negative narratives on the toxic political fight between Governor Fubara and Wike, for scaring potential Investors out of the state. He regretted that the political fight in state has been taken too far and the common Rivers people are suffering the consequences.
He cautioned that as long as said such narratives continued in the local and international media platforms no investor would drop a dime in state and that would also affect good governance in state.
Wali, however, charged the the media to downplay reportage of the toxic political fights in the state but join in setting economic and investment agenda for state.
He told Journalists that at the proposed summit, investment experts and potential Investors would be invited to discuss the investment potentials and set development agenda for the state.
