‘Our Relationship With France, Mutually Beneficial’

The Rivers State Government says it has had a mutually beneficial relationship with France over the years.
The State Chief Executive, Chief Nyesom Wike stated this during the 2017 France National Day celebration in Port Harcourt.
Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, the governor said the relationship between Rivers State, Nigeria and France has been cemented over the years through cooperation and investments in the areas of agriculture, fisheries and manufacturing.
He expressed regrets that while French nationals were out in the streets and beaches celebrating democracy of several centuries and good memories, last year, terrorists struck to cut short the celebration.
According to the governor, Nigeria has also had a couple of terrorist attacks through the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East region of the country.
Wike said contrary to what some detractors would say, Rivers State was very safe for investment because the present administration was working assiduously in collaboration with the security agencies to reduce, to the barest minimum, the issues of crime and criminality that has affected the region.
“The war against crime is continuous because, to us, it is very important that our investors stay. We have created the enabling environment and given the necessary logistics support to the security agencies to tackle criminals head-on,” Wike said.
According to him, “the importance of Rivers State to the nation is very clear to us, and we take that very seriously”, stressing that “It is very important that investors remain here because the state is safe for investors, and will continue to remain safe”.
He said, “We have heard stories of pipeline vandalism elsewhere but the story is different in Rivers State, because of our political will and commitment to tackle criminality.
“We want you to be our ambassador to bring in more companies, more investors to the state”, the state chief executive further said.
While commending Air France for consistently operating in Port Harcourt over the years, which he attributed to the peaceful nature of the city, Wike expressed the need to further collaborate with France to ensure that more manufacturing industries come back on stream to generate more jobs for our youth.
Earlier, the Consul General of France in Lagos, Mr. Laurent Polonceaux, said the beauty of democracy was the ability of citizens to freely choose their leaders, stressing that the coming of President Emmanuel Macron will strengthen the bond between the two countries.
Also speaking, the Honorary Consul of France in Port Harcourt, Mr. Francois Le Coca, said France would continue to partner with Nigeria and the Rivers State Government to attract more development to the state.