…as Shell, Chevron, Other oil coys decline to sponsor summit
By Francis Sadhere/Favour Samuel, Warri
Warri South council Boss, Micheal Tidi on Monday said the second Warri Economic Summit slated for October 2nd and 3rd will be geared towards tackling the un-employment rate and other economic issues facing the council.
Tidi who said this at pre-summit media briefing, lamented the high rate of unemployment among youths in the council, adding that this was one of the reasons why the second summit was necessary.
He said one of the aim of this year’s summit will be to introduce the youth to some of the benefits of engaging in Agriculture.
“We are not happy with the way our youths are sitting idle doing nothing and this is why we decided to organize this second Economic Summit where the youths can come and learn how they can be gainfully engaged.
“In this Summit we are going to bring in experts from within and outside the state who are going to share ideas with us because we believe that ideas rule the world,” Tidi said.
The Warri South council Boss said there were a lot of untaped benefits in the agricultural sector which most youths are not aware of, noting that Agriculture will change their lives for the better.
He said the council was planning to have their own ‘Warri Farms’ in one of the rural communities that will address the issue of rural/Urban migration.
“We are trying to partner with professional Farmers who have made it big to come and invest here and encourage Agriculture.
“We are looking at Palm oil production and we already have farm land at Ugbogede community. Here investors from far and wide will come and encourage our people to farm.
“Warri should have it’s own farm and we are working towards it. This will address the rural/Urban drift that choking our cities. And we can also identify those who want to work and those who do not want to work, Tidi said.
He also revealed that experts who will be engaging the youths during the summit will inform Farmers on how they can access the Agricultural funds tied in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“This summit will also make us know how we can access the Agricultural funds that are tied up in CBN.
“Today it’s on record that Warri is more Peaceful than Port Harcourt yet the oil companies have refused to relocate back to Warri. We must stop the negative stories about Warri and begin to talk about the positive stories.
“Our comedians have destroy the image of Warri to extent that people outside Warri are afraid to come to Warri. It is high time we stopped painting Warri in the negative way.
“In this second Warri Economic Summit our aim is to create a working economic road map that will develop our economy.
“Lagos is developing today because somebody is thinking for them. But nobody is thinking for Warri today.
“We will not rest until Warri rises again. The youths most be patriotic in their actions and stop discouraging investors from coming to Warri.
“This is not just going to be just another talk show but it is going to be about planning our economy. We are working towards a new Warri.
“We are very hospitable people and we are very industrious. As a government we will ensure that we provide the conducive environment for businesses to strive,” Tidi said.
Meanwhile, our investigation reveals that oil majors like Shell, Chevron, NGC and other oil servicing companies operating in Warri, declined to sponsor the summit.
According to our investigation also, some of the oil majors gave flimsy excuses that the invitation to sponsor the Summit did not get to them on time.
Those who agreed to sponsor the summit include Warri South Council, Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Brown Hill Investment and, AJ Fastfood.
The Chairman of the Warri Economic Summit Group, Barr. Emmanuel Jakpa, in his remarks said one of the propose of the Warri Economic Summit is to drive the process of bringing industries and Government together so that “we can bring Warri back to the glorious old days when Warri was a major player in the economy of this country and West Africa.”
Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who graced the first Warri Economic Summit in 2018, will be the special guest of honour in this year’s edition while world renowned Economist and CEO, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismark Rewane, former Executive Director of Operations, Nigeria Gas Marketing Company, Ekpan, Engr. Gabriel Aggrey, Chairman of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Pinnick and Chief Francis Okumagba, are among keynote speakers expected at the up-coming event.
