Business
HENRY Awuregu, the Director-General (DG), South-East Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines Agriculture (SECCIMA) said that the 31st Enugu International Trade Fair was successful in spite of challenges of Coronavirus.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the just-concluded trade fair, Awuregu said that the trade fair did not feel much of the Coronavirus pandemic and the non-functioning of Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
“We feared that the ravaging deadly disease known as Coronavirus will stop the trade fair at the beginning but the fair gradually grew in strength.
“Though foreign companies did not attend because of the disease the local manufacturers and foreign traders swore up the trade fair.
“Some many embassies have aligned with us for an exhibition of their products so the trade fair would have experienced larger turnout than what we just witnessed.
“Some Chinese companies declared interests and asked us to reserve a very large tent with the air conditioner but they could not make it owing to the current world challenge pandemic,’’ he said.
He said that the absence of foreign companies was not much felt as the number of attendance was encouraging compared to 2019.
“We are looking at the year 2021 because by then there will be no case of Coronavirus so we are expecting a large turnout,’’ DG said.
Speaking on the Enugu International Airport, the DG said that they were able to beat the challenges through Owerri Airport.
“No doubt the Enugu Airport situation affected the trade fair but we used Owerri Airport to beat the challenges to some level.
“Even the Minister of Mines and Steel for State, Dr. Uche Ogah who came was in hurry to go because of the distance,’’ Awuregu said.
Speaking on why the trade fair is annual, Awuregu said that the trade fair in the country had been programmed.
“We have three approved international trade fairs in Nigeria, one at West that is in Lagos, one for North that is Kano and one for East that is Enugu and all have been programmed. So changing one will affect another.
“It is what the businessmen do once every year and it is captured in the government institutions calender.
“Lagos Trade Fair takes place towards the Christmas period while Enugu own is towards Easter period,’’ he said.
He said that the chamber was are looking forward to getting another event to fill in the gap so that the ground would not be left moribund.
“We need to keep the trade fair venue busy because the venue will be taking over by grass after the Easter event,’’ Awuregu said.
Awuregu said that they were looking forward to doing other exhibitions like automobile exhibitions and building material exhibitions which would be turned by turn.
The DG said that it planned well for the fair and that hand sanitisers were provided at the strategic areas adding that people adhered to the instruction of its usage. (NAN)
– Mar. 23, 2020 @ 18:45 GMT |
Tags: Enugu Trade fair successful in spite of CONVID – 19 – DG
