A renowned Warri-based Captain of Industry, Engr. Tony Okoh, has emerged as the 13th President of the Delta Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (DACCIMA).
Engr. Okoh was elected, along with other executive members, at the 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association, which took place on Thursday in Asaba.
In his acceptance speech, after he was invested President, Engineer Okoh thanked the various Chambers that make up the association for the opportunity given him to lead, promising to take DACCIMA to greater heights.
The new President noted that the original vision of the association’s founding fathers was to use it as a platform to organize trade fairs in the state on a rotational basis and to engage the government in the area of advocacy for policies that would create an enabling environment for growth and development of the private sector.
He, however, stated that the present-day DACCIMA had grown to become a loud voice of the private sector in the state, a priceless partner of government and other stakeholders within the business ecosystem.
Engr. Okoh said the association hoped to deepen collaboration with the Delta State Government, with a view to engendering a more robust relationship and building trust.
He thanked the government for its support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), especially the recent approval of a N1 billion revolving fund to support the enterprises through the Bank of Industry.
The intervention, he said, would enable the MSMEs to access loans on a single-digit interest rate, help to promote entrepreneurship and generate employment and stimulate economic development.
The DACCIMA helmsman stated that with the interventions of government, the association would contribute more to the realization of the MORE agenda of the Oborevwori administration, adding that the new executive would dwell more on sensitization of members to keep them abreast of opportunities they could leverage on.
He commended his predecessor, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, for his immense contribution and dedication to the growth and development of DACCIMA, stressing that his wealth of experience and inspirational leadership had taken the association to enviable heights.
In his remarks, the President of NACCINA, Chief Dele Oye Esq, represented by Mrs Patricia Idiakhoa, urged businessmen and women in the state to maintain integrity in their transactions and ensure they operated in a peaceful environment.
For his part, the immediate past President of DACCIMA, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, represented by Chief Simon Asite, said his administration was able to strengthen the association’s management and legal framework, registered it as a Limited Liability Company (Gtd), among other achievements, and urged the new executive to build on them.
In an interview with newsmen at the end of the event, the Executive Secretary of DACCIMA and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Investment, Hon Peter Okolie, revealed that the previous executive succeeded in establishing an Arbitration Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Asaba and urged the new administration to focus on securing a more enabling environment for business to thrive in the state.
The event featured a lecture on the theme: “Driving Excellence Through Collaboration and Innovation: A Pathway for Sustainable Growth”, by the Chairman of the Delta Investment Development Agency (DIDA) Chief Lucky Oghene-Omoru, and goodwill messages
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