The Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN) and Chairman of Aqua Rapha investment Nigeria Limited, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has described Enugu State as peaceful and safe for investment with an outstanding feature as “the most hospitable state in the country”.
Rev. Fr. Mbaka spoke when the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Nigeria, Mrs. Inger Ultvedt paid a visit to the Government House, Enugu to explore business opportunities in Enugu State.
The cleric noted that Enugu is peaceful, secure and conducive for investment because of the leadership qualities of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who he described as “an innovative, kind-hearted and God fearing governor”.
He added that Gov. Ugwuanyi is reliable and committed to rapid development of the state, stressing that he has “zero tolerance for corruption” and always abides by terms of agreements.
Rev. Fr. Mbaka, therefore, encouraged the Swedish Ambassador and his team to invest in Enugu State especially in the area of renewable energy to guarantee steady power supply for ease of doing business in the state, stressing that their visit was timely and imperative.
The cleric disclosed that his company is already partnering with a Swedish company on business service delivery.
In her remark, the Swedish Ambassador expressed delight at the hospitality accorded the delegation in Enugu, disclosing that the Government of Sweden has a promising market with a lot of investors willing to do business in the state in particular and Nigeria in general.
She harped on diversification of the economy as key to economic growth, saying: “Today we have diversified. Our university is focusing a lot on innovation and entrepreneurship. We have a very good co-operation with the University of Nigeria Nsukka”.
Responding, Gov. Ugwuanyi who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo welcomed the Sweden Ambassador and her team to the state, adding that the visit “offers us an ample opportunity to explore bilateral relationship and exchange ideas on areas of mutual interest between your country and the Enugu State Government”.
The governor stated that “Enugu is among the states in the country that have demonstrated commitment to current efforts to diversify the national economy especially through the attraction of high quality investments in key sectors of the economy”.
He told the delegation that the state recently hosted an international business summit to showcase “the massive but virtually untapped economic potentials that abound in Enugu State” such as in Agriculture and Agro-Allied Enterprises, Medicare, Manufacturing, Tourism/ Hospitality, Education, Infrastructural development and Mining/ Mineral resources, among others, assuring them of the state government’s interest to share ideas with them on how best to exploit the vast business opportunities that exist in Enugu State.
