The Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah has called on the United Kingdom to restore visa facilitation centre in the state so as to boost trade, business, and other relationships between both entities.
Governor Mbah made the call on Tuesday evening when he received the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery at the Enugu State Government House.
The interaction centered on partnership for economic growth and development of Enugu state.
Commending the economic plans of the new administration, Dr. Montgomery said, “I am here to listen, learn, and understand more about your priority and that of your new government to explore areas of further collaboration.”
Recalling past reforms the United Kingdom had partnered with Enugu State for over 20 years; public health sector reforms, education, power sector reforms, amongst others, the British High Commissioner assures the Enugu state government of her country’s interest in partnership.
“The UK is very interested in exploring partnerships on trade and investment and I have come to Enugu to understand your agenda and to explore those areas of potential partnership going forward,” he stated.
“We really hope that the South East and Enugu State will see more opportunities coming from the economy in the coming years.”
Speaking on the effect of current reforms in the nation, Dr. Montgomery stated, “There might be some short-term pressures and volatility to manage, but we can see the prospects for a higher growth path for Nigeria”.
In his speech, the Enugu State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah reiterated the state’s role and place in the history of Nigeria and shared his administration’s vision to transform Enugu to a premier destination for investment, business, living and tourism.
Mbah then called on the United Kingdom to site a visa facilitation centre in Enugu.
“Enugu in time past had played major historic roles in the history of the South and the nation and there could be no better place to site a visa facilitation centre than Enugu.”
“So, we are looking forward to that to boost trade, investment, and cooperation between the UK and our state,” Mbah said.
“This is why your visit to us today is quite remarkable because we believe it is not a journey we can go alone. We need partnerships. We need collaborations in order to achieve that.”
Mbah also solicits support in developing Enugu State as a special agro-allied processing zone while seeking for technical assistance in the power sector so as to develop and build the Enugu electricity market and the consequent regulatory commission, as power had been devolved to the Concurrent List in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
“We are also interested in the private-sector-led green economic transformation where we obviously believe that we can participate in renewable energy so that most of our catchment power requirements can actually be attended to. So, the emphasis is on technical assistance and support,” Mbah reiterates.
