By ALEX ENEBELI

The Enugu Chamber of Commence, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), has elected its former 1st Deputy President, Mr Nnanyelugo Onyemelukwe, as its 18th President to serve in the next two years.

Onyemelukwe, who replaced the outgoing President, Sir Odeiga Jideonwo, was elected unopposed during the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the chamber held at its Secretariat in Enugu on Thursday.

Addressing newsmen before the meeting, Jideonwo thanked members of the chamber for their support and urged the new president to build on his achievements and work on mistakes to take the chamber to higher level.

He announced that the 37th edition of Enugu Trade Fair would begin from March 21 to March 30, 2026, with the theme “Empowering MSMEs for Global Competitiveness”.

He added that a comprehensive strategy and a clear roadmap for the successful hosting had been developed.

According to him, implementation is already in progress as marketing activities commenced last year through both direct and indirect channels and that they are encouraged by the growing interest from both local and international organisations.

“I therefore invite all institutions, government agencies, and international partners to actively participate in this landmark event, which has been deliberately structured to deliver value across all stakeholder groups,” Jideonwo said.

The ECCIMA boss commended the Enugu State Government for what he described as “visible and sustainable commitment” toward urban renewal and infrastructure development across Enugu metropolis and other parts of the state.

“Worthy of mention are your administration’s bold intervention in upgrading the education system through the construction of 260 Smart Schools, significant investment in road construction and transport infrastructure.

“These achievements stand as a testament to your administration’s commitment to reforms, efficiency, and service delivery.

“We are truly proud of these unrelenting efforts to position Enugu State as a competitive and business-friendly destination,” he said.

Declaring the meeting open earlier, Gov. Mbah, represented by the by the state Commissioner for Commence, Investment and Industry, Mr Sam Nwobodo, urged ECCIMA and the business community to continue to support the state to do more.

“I urge you to continue to support the Enugu State Government because government will listen where there can be changes. With your cooperation, we shall continue to achieve better as a government,” he appealed.

In his acceptance speech, Onyemelukwe pledged to engage more members into the chamber to grow their businesses by bringing them into active business groups.

“We intend to visit our members and give them absolute visibility to the world by getting their businesses included in our website in a manner that they will be listed.

“We will activate the website in such a way that the information concerning our businesses can easily be accessed all around the world,” he said. (NAN)