RSIPA calls on BRACED Commission to revive regional economic unity

The RIVERS State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has called on the BRACED Commission to recommit to economic integration, leveraging the renewed unity among member states now under the same political umbrella, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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The BRACED Commission, established to foster cooperation for regional integration and collective growth among the South South states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, and Delta, has failed to achieve its objectives due to partisan differences.

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At a two-day Roundtable in Port Harcourt, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, Director General of RSIPA, urged the cooperating states to embark on trans-regional projects, including rail lines, power, and blue economy, and to establish a regional investment platform to manage such joint projects.

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He emphasized that the time for synergy is now, as all BRACED governors are under one political party, and that the region should target big-ticket investment proposals that may involve other states, necessitating collaboration.

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Peterside cited the example of a railway system, which is not feasible for one state alone, and noted that there is currently no railway line linking Benin to Port Harcourt to Calabar, a project that BRACED can champion.

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He also mentioned an oil route from Opobo to Akwa Ibom, where Sterling Oil is operating, as a route of interest, and stated that Governor Siminalay Fubara wants Rivers to synergize with other states economically.

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Peterside stressed that the BRACED task is not about competition, but collaboration, and that the region has various organizations, such as the Niger Delta Development Commission and the South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, that can facilitate this collaboration.

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The gathering, which preceded an upcoming economic summit, featured investment promotion agencies from the cooperating states, each showcasing their progress in promoting investment and ease of doing business.

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Peterside discussed the progress made in Rivers State, where some investment prospects are already flowing in after disruptions caused by the State of Emergency, and the young RSIPA has received numerous investment proposals.

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He explained that RSIPA has engaged actively with the private sector, streamlining a system for addressing investor needs and supporting their business operations through outreach programs and a One-Stop-Center (OSC).

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For the first time in Rivers, prospective investors and small and medium enterprises now have a centralized hub to address their challenges and find solutions, enhancing the operating climate and ease of doing business.

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Mrs Patience Ranami Abah, Director General of Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency (BIPA), presented on "Closing the Value Capture Gap", highlighting the benefits of states working together to drive an economic front.

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Amb Joe Keshi, Director General of the BRACED Commission, noted that the roundtable was themed around synchronizing investment frontiers in a strategic framework for South-South economic integration.

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The roundtable outcomes, encoded in a communique, recommended setting up a monitoring committee and other organs to drive integration and investment, including a private sector-driven rail system connecting the region.

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Mr Kalada Apiafi, who presented the outline of the project, said that interests are high and hopes are also high that the rail project from Benin to Calabar would become a reality, with the proposition already at the feasibility study stage.