DELTA State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has urged Deltans who are doing well in their different fields of work to invest in the state.

Speaking today at the Isoko Economic and Investment Summit held at Oleh, Delta State, Governor Okowa stated that the call became necessary because, a lot of Deltans have their industries and other investments outside the state, disclosing that the state is peaceful and safe for investments to thrive.

“That factory that we are putting elsewhere, we can bring it home and if all Deltans who are doing well comes to invest in the state, our state will be blessed the more and more of our youths will get job,” Governor Okowa said.

“There is a lot of benefits derivable in investing in Delta State, the environment is friendly and the market is there for your products; we look forward to partnering with investors coming into our state to ensure that they have quick returns on their investments,” he added.

While stating that plans are on to outlaw youths activities in the area of multiple levies nicknamed “deve”, Governor Okowa lauded the Federal Government’s initiatives towards encouraging investors in having Modular Refineries in the country.

He, however, appealed that the Federal Government will create a lot of job opportunities if the polytechnics and the petroleum training institutes are equipped to construct such refineries or be able to manage such when they come on stream.

“We have made our technical colleges to be functional, as parents, we must encourage our children to attend the colleges which will equip them for the Polytechnics because, someone who moved from the technical colleges to the Polytechnics will come out a better person; we want people who can create jobs and be able to stand on their own,” Governor Okowa stated. “We must encourage the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) and the Polytechnics to understudy how to construct Modular Refineries so that subsequently, we will not need expatriates to construct or fix such refineries in the future,” he further said.

The Governor commended the Chairmen of Isoko North and South local government councils, Comrade Emmanuel Egbabor and Sir Itiako Ikpokpo respectively for conceiving the summit. He advised that the outcome of the summit should not be put to waste, noting that his administration was committed to encouraging speedy development of the state.

He assured Deltans that the Section C of the Ughelli/Asaba dual carriage way (Asaba to Ozoro) has not been abandoned. “We are not abandoning the Asaba/Ughelli road project, we are discussing with the contractor handling the project because, he is being owed a lot of money, even before we came,” the Governor said.

Okowa also decried the low patronage of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers programme and called on Deltans to form cooperative societies to enable them have access to the funds to enable them be involved in large-scale farming which he described as “the greatest employer of labour.”

Earlier in an address, Hon. Egbabor had said: “The summit is driven by the need to diversify the economy of the Isoko nation, improve human capital development, reduce the poverty index of the people of the area, as well as explore new avenues of business developments. The theme of the summit is ‘Harnessing Isoko Economic Potentials and Opportunities For Sustainable Development’.”

Those who spoke at the occasion included Sir Ayodele Othihiwo, Prof. Abednego Ekoko, Prof. Samuel Aghalino, Dr Christopher Akpotu. They observed that Governor Okowa has stridently worked for an investment friendly environment in the state and listed areas of investment, especially in Isoko ethnic nationality.

•Photo shows a cross section of participants at the 2017 Isoko Economic and Investment Summit held today at Civic Center Oleh, Delta State.

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