Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce President, Dr Chinyere Nwoga has emphasized the need for African nations to prioritize Intra-African trade and collaboration to drive development. Dr. Nwoga stressed that a pragmatic African blueprint will stimulate African trade and economic liberation, and ensure Africa looks within to its people, its resources, its entrepreneurs and its institutions if they hope to remove the internal trade barriers that have stagnated progress and had cost the continent billions each year.
Dr. Nwoga made this assertion while speaking at a special event to mark 2025 World Trade Day organized by the Institute of Internal Trade and Development, the University of Port Harcourt with the Theme: ” Open Market and Open Mind: Catalyst for Transparency in Global Trade’. She said Africa must rise, look inward, step outside their comfort zone, rely on themselves to drive self-sufficiency.
Dr. Nwoga however said to achieve this, infrastructure must be improved, corruption fought and local industries empowered to compete and collaborate beyond borders. She noted that the African private sector is ready and what’s needed now is bold political will. “As a leader of the organized private sector in River states, PHCCIMA advocates for global trade as well as continental trade.
Africa must begin to post-trade among African countries as well as fastrack the objectives of eliminating tariffs on 90% of goods over time to enhance the creation of a single African market’.
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According to her, these are achievable with an enabling environment, all that is needed is to look at the customs procedure, the vast climate, and military issues and start harmonizing policies including cultural and bureaucracy issues while engaging in capacity building.
Speaking about the event of the day Dr Nwoga said the chamber as an essential business organization is happy to be part of this event. She highlighted the key objectives of PHCCIMA, adding that PHCCIMA is the oldest and second-largest chamber in the country and one of the only three premium chambers of Commerce in Nigeria.
“We encourage entrepreneurial training in schools and higher institutions, that’s why we intend to come back to this university to seek collaboration and partnership with the school”. “Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that change will happen within the next two days when this program is over, we are going to learn so much that will help and propel us to the world’s reach where we rightly belong,” she said.
The event also featured the MD/CEO of Starzs Group of Companies, Iroghama Ogbeifun a PHCCIMA member company as keynote speaker, including DG Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce, Warmate Jones Idikio among other resource persons who corroborated PHCCIMA president’s stance that African nations must prioritize intra-African trade and collaboration to drive development and prosperity across the continent.
The event witnessed the presence of past PHCCIMA President, Engr Dr. Emeka Unachukwu, a member of the LOC of the event, PHCCIMA treasurer, Mrs. Edughom Hanson, WCCIMA delegation and an award of honour to the PHCCIMA President among others.
