Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on Thursday held a successful 32nd Annual General Meeting at Dele Oye Hall of Abuja International Trade and Convention Centre in the Federal Capital Territory.
All resolutions proposed at the AGM were approved by the Executive Council members including the nomination of Dr Elachi Agada as the new Vice President Finance and Mr Chidozie Mbanefo as the Vice President Mines. Others whose positions as Vice presidents were retained are; Dr Idi Hong, Communication Strategy and External Development, Barr Obiageli Nwosu, Women Development and Gender Matters, Dr Sunday Sijuade, Commerce, Alh. Bukhari Bello, Legal and the recently nominated Vice President Industry, Dr Ekechukwu Chijioke.
The Executive Council members who lauded the achievement of the Chamber in 2022, commended the President for his resilience in the delivery of activities that boost the development of the foremost Chamber.
Dr Abubakar while welcoming everyone to the 32nd AGM stated that since the last AGM held in December 2021, several inspiring developments and milestones have been achieved, further confirming ACCI as one of, if not, the foremost chamber in Nigeria. The great vision of rebranded Chamber has become a reality and the reforms that were painstakingly implemented paid off with more sterling achievements.
While giving an overview of both the national and international scene he said, it is also very important to mention a few emerging issues around the national and international economies.
“At the national level, Nigeria is in her election year, with the general election taking place in February, 2023. We cannot discountenance the impact this would have on the political and socio-economic footprints of the country. We are optimistic that the election outcomes would be favorable for the business committee.
“Furthermore, the continued spike in inflationary trend in the last months has been quite worrisome for us at the Chamber because of its direct impact on our members’ businesses. We look forward to the inflation heading south in the coming months, giving some relief to businesses.”
On the global scene, the Ukraine-Russian war continues to impact negatively on most economies of the world. Consequent upon the war, several countries have gone into recession, as countries battle with rising energy costs, spiral rise in food prices and expensive supply chain management
Highlights of the Chamber’s activities in 2022 includes; various developmental projects and series of Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU), with both private and Government Institutions including the University of Abuja on the establishment of Entrepreneurship Centre and Demonstration Farms in the University.
For the next phase of development, Dr Abubakar stated that this year, through a rigorous process the Chamber signed agreement with City Scape Property Limited for the development of the remaining 10 hectares of land belonging to the Chamber.
“Following the timelines presented by the developer, construction activities will commence in December 2022. The proposal is for the development of an Ultra-Modern Market.
The high point of the AGM was the presentation of membership certificates to over 50 new members who registered in the year 2022. The presentation of the certificates was conducted by the Director General, ACCI, Victoria Akai.
Signed:
Olayemi John-Mensah
ACCI, Media/Strategy Officer
