RSG To Start Electronic Registration, Jan … As Bonny Targets Smart City

The Rivers State Government says plans are on top gear to start an electronic business registration in January, 2021.
The State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Ifeyinwa Nwankpa, said this at the maiden membership induction ceremony of the Bonny Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA) in Bonny, recently.
Nwankpa noted that the strategy was in collaboration with the BOCCIMA to lunch a Smart City platform in the entire local government soon.
The commissioner who spoke through the Director of Trade, Mr Emmanuel Nwankwo, said that the goal was to achieve ease of doing business in the state, especially in Bonny LGA.
According to her, the target is also to enable the state have a solid, verifiable and accurate data that would be used to populate what she described as the state’s “Yellow Pages”.
“We are going to get verifiable and accurate data which will be used to produce the Yellow Pages or rather review the Yellow Pages we have. The goal is to achieve ease of doing business. We will also be changing the Yellow Pages to Blue Pages in line with the official colour of Rivers State”, she said.
The BOCCIMA President, Mr Lawrence Jumbo, had earlier said that Bonny would soon become the first Smart City and tourist hub that would be operated by  fibre optical technology.
Jumbo said that the plans already had the support of the Bonny King, Edward William Dappa Pepple and other stakeholders in the area.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Council, Hon David Irimagha, stressed the council’s resolution to support BOCCIMA and its activities.
Irimagha, who was represented by his Vice, Anengi Barasua, also expressed optimism that the whole initiatives would birth a hybrid business climate in the area as he hailed the BOCCIMA’s Smart business idea.
In her speech, the Director General of BOCCIMA, Constance Nwokejiobi, said the association had positioned itself to act as the business hub of Bonny Kingdom.
She explained that for a viable economic growth and innovation to take place in any area, its initiators must first and foremost think about digitalization.
She hinted that by 2040, Bonny Kingdom would witness exponential population growth, urging the Kingdom to address its challenges as well as harness available opportunities.

By: King Onunwor