By ALEX ENEBELI

Mr. Jasper Nduagwuike, President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the 33rd Enugu International Trade Fair.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 12-day fair, Nduagwuike said that the chamber enjoyed total support of its numerous exhibitors, participants and visitors.

He adjudged the fair as successful and hitch free as it did not record any form of insecurity as insinuated.

According to him, in the course of the fair, testimonies were heard, relationships born, networks created, orders placed and hands shaken over concluded business deals. We are indeed grateful to God.

“What we have seen this year, is a pointer to the fact that what we always believed about the 34th Enugu International Trade Fair will come to pass,” he said.

Nduagwuike explained that the fair was slowly returning to the pride of place it occupied in the 80’s and 90’s.

He pledged to work harder to move it higher, adding that, there was no doubt that the government would continue to cooperate with it to ensure that the fair was brought to where it ought to be.

He, however, appealed to the Federal Government, to support the fair the same way it supported Lagos and Kaduna trade fair sites.

“Even if it is due to paucity of funds, they cannot develop us to the extent they did for Lagos and Kaduna, they should at least build an exhibition hall and an administrative

Block for us.

“My administration has decided to build a new pavilion which will be inaugurated on or before the opening ceremony of the 34th Enugu international Trade Fair,” the president said.

Nduagwuike lauded Dangote Industries and Nigeria Breweries for sponsoring the fair, adding that they were no breach of security throughout the fair.

The president expressed the hope that more foreign firms would participate in the 34th Enugu International Trade Fair in 2023.

“As we speak, we are proud to state that about 20 countries have already indicated their willingness to be part of the next year fair.

“It is a fair that will have the greatest number of new participants, this year we had over 15 new firms that participated in our fairs.

”We hope to have more participants next year and by God’s grace, it will only get better,” Nduagwuike said.

Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI), Enugu State, Mr Godwin Anigbo said the insecurity in the state was not as it was being speculated.

Anigbo, represented by the Director of Administration in the ministry, Mr Nwabueze Chukwude, said Enugu was peaceful unlike other states in the South-East.

He lauded the participants for being part of the history, urging investors to invest in the state.

“Enugu state has ease way of doing business as there were no issue of double taxation in place,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that countries like Republic of Namibia, China, India and Ghana attended the 33rd Enugu fair which lasted for 12 days starting from March 25 to April 6. (NAN)