National Assets, Infrastructures: South-South Stakeholders Converge To Proffer Solutions On Preservation, Protection

A two-day South – South Zonal Stakeholders Summit aimed at generating collaborative efforts and measures towards preservation and protection of national critical infrastructures and assets within the zone had been scheduled to hold on July 26-27, 2022.

With the theme: “Domesticating stakeholders statutory responsibilities in protecting Nigeria’s critical infrastructures and other assets”, taking place in Port Harcourt, is part of the recommendations of the earlier national summit held in Abuja in March, 2022.

Throwing light on the upcoming summit during a press conference Tuesday, Dr. Chiakor Alfred, Head of Secretariat, Summit Planning Committee, noted that the earlier Summit was convened with the “priority objective to infuse a national high – end architecture for systemized response strategy; explore turnkey solutions for deterrence, threat mitigation and recovery; accelerate strategies for systematic intelligence generation and dissemination and increased security consciousness; establish a network of proactive Stakeholders, Agencies and Policy Making Institutions to initiate, follow up and implement creative strategies; rethink strategies for strengthening the ability of Business Assets to recover and withstand from disruption; galvanize synergy for the prioritization of the multi Agency/ Joint Risk Management efforts to ensure the security and resilience of Nigeria’s critical Infrastructures and Assets in line with identified policy frameworks.”

He explained that the imperative to domesticate the actionable blueprints and Resolutions derived from the Abuja Summit in the Geopolitical Zones and Host Communities form the basis of the convention of the South – South Regional Summit.

Dr. Chiakor lamented that one of the most worrisome challenges to Nigeria’s national economic development is the systematic vandalisation, degradation and destruction of its critical national infrastructures and business assets.

According to him, “The consequences of these criminal activities constitute adverse national security risks of untold proportions and impact our collective destiny gravely by undermining investor confidence; inhibiting the drive for Foreign Direct Investment, social capital growth and real business development; and truncating real progress in other sectors of the national economy.”

He observed that it is unfortunate fact that the aggregation of uncertainties caused by the hostile operating environment has led to the liquidation and/or relocation to other countries of viable industries and business franchises that provided employment opportunities and other economic value chains to Nigerians.

“These have depressed the national economy and triggered high rates of unemployment and other attendant problems”, he stressed.

He said: “The South – South Zonal Stakeholders Summit further aims to intensify advocacy for Stakeholders Statutory Responsibilities. It shall also engender the re-engineering of appropriate legislations; and the strategic roadmap for harnessing expert knowledge and country wide technical support for deterrence, codified response strategy and recovery architecture to Nigeria’s critical assets.

“Equally important is the desire to seek renewed commitment to the challenges impacting the integrity of critical infrastructures and assets in the Region, especially the vandalisation and destruction of its complex ecosystem of separate yet interconnected infrastructures in the Oil and Gas; Telecommunications, Transportation and Power Sectors.”