Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has said the Federal Government will continue to support the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) and investors in the free zones.
He noted that over the years, the oil and gas free zones attracted more than $20 billion in investments and created about 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, facilitating the transfer of skills and technology to Nigerians.
Enelamah spoke yesterday at a stakeholders’ forum organised by OGFZA at Onne in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The minister, who declared the stakeholders’ forum open, was represented by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar.
Enelamah said: “Our ministry has developed what we term the MITI plan, which rests on five pillars namely: creating a friendly business environment, coherence between monetary, fiscal and structural reforms, so that economic policies of government are coordinated and targeted at the common purpose of structural transformation to eliminate distortions and supply constraints, provision of hard and soft infrastructure for growth, implementing the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, promoting the growth and development of MSMEs and trade facilitation.
“By working out a detailed roadmap and an information-rich marketing brochure, OGFZA will strengthen investors’ confidence and give a strong impetus to businesses that want to explore the numerous opportunities that abound in the oil and gas free zones and sectors.
“Besides its national significance, the roadmap we are unveiling today (yesterday) is a critical work tool for OGFZA. It will provide the means to milestone the performance of the authority and help to measure economic and social progress in the oil and gas free zones. The steps outlined by OGFZA to enhance service delivery, improve on the ease of doing business and automate its operations will help in creating the enabling environment to create and sustain investments.”
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of OGFZA, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, described the stakeholders’ forum as an important event in the strategic plan of the authority.
He noted that the minister’s presence at the forum underscored the strong support of government for OGFZA and the management’s efforts to achieve the mandate of the authority.
He said: “This forum offers us a platform to introduce the new leadership of the authority to our stakeholders and show them the way in which we intend to work together to recreate OGFZA and rebuild prosperity for all in successful partnerships between government and private investors in the free zones.
“The path to the new OGFZA is well laid out in our roadmap, which we are unveiling today (yesterday), along with our marketing brochure to guide existing and potential investors to the array of incentives available in our free zones. The roadmap is a product of our vision to be the premier investment promotion agency of government by facilitating the establishment of businesses in the Oil and Gas Free Zones, with the creation of an enabling environment for investment.
“We will make the free zones the first ports of call for investors who are looking for the best opportunities in Africa, to either expand their existing businesses or start new ventures.”
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