Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has appointed Mustafa Chike-Obi as Board Chairman of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA.
He also named Chinedu Onyiuke as the Secretary of the newly constituted Board.
Other members include the MD/CEO, ANSIPPA, Mr. Mark Okoye; Attorney General, Professor Sylvia Ifemeje; Commissioner for Finance, Mr Ifeatu Onejeme; Commissioner for Lands, Prof Offornze Amucheazi; SAN, and Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Chiamaka Nnake.
Others include the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Obinna Ngonadi; Mr Sammy Chidoka; Mr Christian Udechukwu; Dr. Marcel Offormata; and Dr. Emeka Okeke; respectively.
ANSIPPA was set up by law in 2014 with functions to handhold and guide all investors in the State and to ensure that the process of doing business is streamlined and managed efficiently.
It is also to identify specific viable infrastructure projects across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs; and invite interested investors to participate via Public Private Partnership, PPP; Concessions, JVs, etc; strengthen strategic partnerships and enhance the ability of current and future investors to create jobs and expand access to the export market.
Inaugurating the Board members in Awka, Tuesday, the Governor emphasized that the mandate of the agency remained to manage the State’s Investment Portfolio and partner with international development agencies and NGOs to attract technical support and funding to improve investment climate in the state.
He also said: “This is a very important agency of government and one that we expect to play a very critical role in the industrialization of Anambra; in creating that Anambra of our vision, to be the industrial, leisure, entertainment and technology hub within Nigeria and Africa. To get that done, this agency is expected to play a decisive role.”
Reiterating that the state is experiencing unusual and challenging times in the face of declining revenue, he said “We hope that it will improve over time. Debt situation with humongous challenges are all over the place, insecurity, infrastructural challenges, legal issues and all manner of issues that can be challenging to investors.”
The Governor continued: “You’ll also be challenged to come up with creative funding mechanisms, not just for the projects but also even for the agency itself.”
“How do you survive in a time of lean budgetary resources which is the same challenge every government MDA is facing? So, you are called upon to think out of the box, in a very positively disruptive manner, to create new values for our people.”
