The Rivers State government says it has intensified efforts to not only convinve the business world that the state is back to business, it is striving with the PH City chamber to bring back fleeing businesses.
The strongest weapon in the struggle seems to be the fast-approaching Port Harcourt International Trade Fair 2025.
The Sim Fubara-led administration seems to leave no stone unturned in reaching both local and foreign direct investors as well as business owners to witness the new PH business prowess.
The state government thus made it clear at the unveiling of the trade fair logo on Thursday, November 20, 2025, that ‘Rivers Is Back’.
The government also said it is fully backing the trade fair to show that peace is fully back in the state and that misconceptions were totally false.
Government spoke at the unveiling held at the mini conference hall of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) where the logo was unveiled before the general meeting of the City Chamber began.
The state government was represented at the event by Joe Johnson, the newly appointed Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, as well as Chamberlain Peterside, the Director-General of the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA). Both government officials were part of those who went on suspension during the state of emergency that lasted from March to September 2025.
Unveiling the logo, Chinyere Nwoga, the first female president of PHCCIMA, reminded Nigerians that PHCCIMA is still the 2nd largest Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria, which has the primary objective to build and protect businesses in the Niger Delta region and beyond.
“Our goal is to advocate for sustained economic growth through exposure of businesses to both local and global markets. Here, the Port Harcourt International Trade Fair is one of these platforms to achieve global visibility.”
Read also: PHCCIMA gives tips to reignite Rivers economy
Giving the theme of the 2025 trade fair as ‘Growing through innovation and Sustainability: Bridging Markets and Encouraging Disruptions’, Nwoga said the new world is about tech and disruptions. “To run a successful business in the present time, the future of businesses has to be innovative, have to embrace technology, and have to operate globally.”
She assured that the Trade Fair would attract participants and exhibitors from within and outside the country. “We are targeting key industry players, Government MDAs, diplomats, research institutions, manufacturers, trade associations, professional institutions, the press, and the general public.”
She said the fair would promote private visibility to businesses through the display of their goods and services; attract internal investment both domestic and foreign, not in line with the federal government policy to promote accelerated development of Commerce and Industry; provide assurance that Rivers State is safe and secure to do business.
More than these, she said the fair would provide a channel through which Rivers State government will make known their investment opportunities and the ease of doing business in the State, to investors. It would also provide opportunities for families to do their Christmas shopping at discounted rates.
She reminded Nigerians that Port Harcourt is still the oil capital of the nation and that innovations in the oil/gas industry would team up with forays into Blue Economy to unveil new opportunities for businesses.
A major attraction she said is that local council areas would take their turns to showcase their products and economic prowess.
Business operators and investors said they were pleasurably shocked that the state government is not only backing the PH International Trade Fair but is grabbing full opportunity to promote Rivers State and Port Harcourt economic zone, unlike in the past when trade fairs were left for private sector operators.
Johnson, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, who was immediate past commissioner for information and communication before the state of emergency, said the Government is doing everything to support the business community.
He also affirmed that Port Harcourt is back to business, saying Rivers State is one of the safest states in Nigeria at the moment.
The Commissioner reacted to complaints of government failure many years back to release the 10,000 hectares of land to the CBN-backed Oil Palm Growers Scheme, saying he would liaise with his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture to find out about the promise before speaking on it. He said this is because Gov Sim Fubara does not promise and fail.
Peterside, the DG of RSIPA, traced the history of Rivers State and said the present administration is determined to bring back fleeing businesses. He said progress has been made and not all businesses were lost, mention the NLNG and Renaissance that are still in Port Harcourt.
The DG assured that the administration would definitely look into accumulating cases of certificates of occupancies (CofOs) which seems to create frustrations in the state, making many not to believe that the government was fully back.
Emi Membere-Otaji, former PHCCIMA President who was former commissioner for health as well as former Special Adviser on Investment expressed happiness that the state government came fully to back the trade fair.
The man who is now the first national deputy president of NACCIMA (body of all city chambers in Nigeria), said many things went wrong in the state in the past but that the private sector is getting signals that good things are ahead.
He advised the governor to strive more to bring back fleeing businesses.
Special trade fair sweetners for investors back:
According to the PHCCIMA president, aside the commercial activities that will be going on at the trade fair, there would be conferences, training and seminars going on every everyday from morning till evening. “Port Harcourt PHCCIMA has over 25 Trade Groups and committees. These trade groups represent the various sectors of the economy. We have the Agriculture & Agro-Allied, Services, Engineering, Fabrication of Construction, Manufacturing, Tourism & Hospitality, Commerce & ICT, Import & Export, Oil & Gas, Chemical & Allied Services, Power, Energy.
“All these trade groups are scheduled to hold training and seminars daily till the end of the Tradefair. These trainings are free of charge and are open to the general public.
We shall also have Special Days for Corporate bodies and MDAs. For instance, the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency will have their Special Day. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is also planning their own programme for the trade fair as will be explained by the Honourable Commissioner.
“It might interest you to recall that every local government council in Rivers State is specially endowed with unique resources and potentials for investment. Each will also have a day to showcase their products and opportunities.”
