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Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has, for the umpeenth time, gave assurance of his commitment to support and encourage genuine private sector-driven business investments in the state.
Ugwuanyi, who stated this when he received the management team of United Nigeria Airlines led by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, at the Government House, Enugu, yesterday, told the delegation that his administration would fully support the company to grow its business in Enugu State.
The governor stressed that his government wants more business investments and is poised to encourage the private sector to thrive in the state, add value to the economy and wellbeing of the residents.
“We will give you the whole support; rest assured of our support; we have to support you. Once I see a private sector-driven investment, I will support it. We want more business investments here”, he said.
Ugwuanyi explained that the peace and security being enjoyed in Enugu State was as a result of the concerted efforts of his administration to protect lives and property, improve the welfare of the people and encourage businesses to grow in the state.
“I cherish this peace. People cherish the way we do things here”, the governor added.
Okonkwo disclosed that the delegation was on a courtesy visit to the governor as part of the company’s Annual Retreat taking place in Enugu “which is our hub”.
He stated: “We want to start shifting our base to Enugu”, adding that they discussed the need for closer relationship and partnership with the Enugu State government.
“We were able to enumerate our strategic expansion plans within the year 2022”, he said.
The Chairman expressed delight that the governor understood their strategic plans and “granted all our requests.
“And with these requests, we have no doubt that within the next 12 months, you will see more of our presence in Enugu and we will be here for better and greater service to the people of the state.
“The governor actually has shown also that he is very comfortable with the aviation sector having worked in the Aviation Committee in the National Assembly. So, it was a very easy discussion; we understood ourselves without stress”.
Earlier during the interactive meeting with Ugwuanyi, Okonkwo had informed the governor of the company’s plans to establish a Maintenance and Repair Organization (MRO) facility in Enugu State, indicative of making Enugu its hub of aviation operations.
He stated that United Nigeria Airlines’ choice of Enugu as its operations hub was because of the state’s business-friendly environment and the company’s commitment to the development of numerous opportunities in the South East geo-political zone in general and Enugu State in particular.
He pointed out that an MRO facility in Enugu would create more jobs and expand opportunities for both expatriates and indigenes of the state as well as attract potential business investments and contribute positively to the growth of the revenue base of the state.
