Enugu State has intensified its drive toward a $30 billion economy by partnering with PEBEC and private sector leaders to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, streamline taxes, and accelerate industrial growth across rural communities.
The strategic alignment took center stage during the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Nationwide Town hall and Stakeholders Engagement, held at the Hotel Presidential in Enugu state, Southeast, Nigeria.
The event served as a critical forum for assessing the State Action Plan for Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) and co-creating immediate blueprints to lower the cost of doing business across the state.
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Opening the engagement, the Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Hon. Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, delivering the remarks on behalf of the Executive Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, made it clear that the state is no longer open to administrative inertia.
”Under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah, Enugu State has made the business climate a central pillar of our governance agenda.
“Three years into this administration, our focus has been clear: dismantle bottlenecks, improve infrastructure, digitize processes, and build investor confidence. The goal is ambitious but achievable—a $30 billion economy driven by private sector growth,” Ogbu-Nwobodo said.
The Commissioner emphasised that the engagement with PEBEC was designed to ensure that state policies perfectly mirror the reality of everyday market operators.
”This engagement with PEBEC is timely. PEBEC’s mandate aligns perfectly with Enugu’s vision: to make doing business here faster, simpler, and more profitable.
“No government can get reforms right in isolation. The true test of policy is in the lived experience of business owners, investors, and operators on the ground. That is why your voice matters today,” he said.
Highlighting the state’s uncompromising agenda, he outlined three core pillars for the technical sessions: identifying operational frictions, evaluating ongoing Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms, and co-creating practical regulatory pathways.
“Our objective is simple: fewer frictions, lower costs of doing business, and greater investment inflows into Enugu,” he stated.
Providing a grounded, grassroots perspective on the reforms, the President of the Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NSCCIMA), Sam Otoboeze, lauded the Federal and State governments for their visible interventions in expanding rural access roads, strengthening security architectures, and sanitizing the tax system to stamp out multiple taxation.
However, Otoboeze noted that the transitional shock of moving from informal operations to structured taxation has placed a burden on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and petty traders.
Public-private sensitisation
To bridge this structural divide, he advocated for deeper public-private sensitisation partnerships via chambers of commerce to boost voluntary compliance.
Turning his focus to the immense potential of the state, Otoboeze described the Nsukka Economic Zone as a sleeping giant ready for global trade, particularly through its signature agricultural asset.
”‘Ose Nsukka’ [Nsukka Yellow Pepper] alone has the potential to evolve into a globally recognised agro-export brand through coordinated investment in cultivation, processing, packaging, and certification.
“Similar opportunities exist in honey production, rice processing, cassava processing, cashew value-chain development, and integrated agro-processing clusters capable of generating thousands of jobs,” Otoboeze stated.
To convert this potential into immediate, compounding prosperity, NSCCIMA presented a bold legislative and financial proposal: the establishment of a ₦1 Billion Enterprise Development Program Fund (EDPF), to be managed in Trust by NSCCIMA.
Economic returns
According to conservative chamber projections, within its first 12 months, the ₦1 billion catalytic fund will support 1,200 to 1,500 SMEs, empower 1,000 youth and women-led enterprises. It will create up to 3,500 direct jobs, and stimulate between ₦2.8 billion and ₦5 billion in localised economic activity.
Over five years, that footprint is projected to yield up to ₦30 billion in cumulative economic returns, structurally expanding Enugu State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base through corporate formalization.
”The proposed EDPF should therefore be viewed not merely as a support intervention, but as a strategic economic investment capable of accelerating enterprise development, deepening rural productivity, and expanding the long-term revenue capacity of Enugu State,” Otoboeze stated.
In a major announcement, the NSCCIMA President also revealed that the chamber has secured the hosting rights for the prestigious NACCIMA 3rd Quarter Council and Executive Committee meeting.
The high-profile national event will feature a massive Trade Expo and Investment Showcase, drawing industrial leaders and exporters from across West Africa to Enugu.
Strategic Partnership
Otoboeze formally requested a strategic partnership with the state government to deliver a world-class exhibition. Private Sector Gives Verdict: “Enugu is Moving to Pole Position”
Corroborating the positive transformation of the business landscape, the President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) and Chairman of ECOBPA, Engr. Nnanyelugo Onyemelukwe, delivered a glowing goodwill message to the PEBEC delegation from Abuja.
He noted that the state’s infrastructural modernisation has given local businesses a distinct logistical edge.
According to him, ”Enugu businessmen and women have further gained advantage with the fact that we can now depart Enugu for Lagos and Abuja for business, transact our business and return the same day, saving time and money,” Engr. Onyemelukwe observed. “For this and more, we remain grateful to the Government for this positive policy impact on our businesses.”
While praising Dr. Ogbu-Nwobodo as a “square peg in a square hole” whose tenure has institutionalised early private-sector buy-in for policy formulation, Onyemelukwe reminded the audience that structural reform is a continuous journey.
”There is no doubt that the ease of doing business is work in progress; otherwise, there will be no need for your continuous assessment visit,” Onyemelukwe stated, addressing the PEBEC officials. “Our aim is to continue on this path until we move Enugu State up to pole position in ranking on the ease of doing business.”
He urged the gathered operators of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to voice their challenges constructively during the technical roundtables, noting that their collective input will solidify Enugu’s status as Nigeria’s premier investment haven.
“Our inputs in this town hall meeting, as the real drivers of the economy, will help move the Enugu State Government toward achieving the $30 billion economy vision,” Onyemelukwe concluded.
