By Gregg Mmaduakolam
Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) says it will rescue failing public, private, corporate and state-owned enterprises in Imo State and the South-East region.
The President of BRIPAN, Mr Chimezie Ihekweazu, made the promise on Thursday at the association’s South-East Insolvency Summit held in Owerri.
The theme of the summit was “Deploying Insolvency and Restructuring Tools for Government and Public Enterprise”.
According to BRIPAN President, the South-East Summit is particularly important because there is a vast untapped opportunity in the application of insolvency and restructuring mechanisms to government-owned enterprises in the state.
Ihekweazu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the South-East region is one of the most vibrant commercial corridors and home to a deep reservoir of enterprise, innovation and commercial activities.
He said that the region, and especially Imo State which now has the highest deposit of natural gas in the world, requires the structured intervention that modern insolvency and business rescue practice provides.
Ihekweazu added that such a thriving business environment in the South-East region comes with opportunities and challenges that need an expert association like BRIPAN to assist the zone to solve.
He said federal, state and local government entities manage public services, utilities, infrastructure and revenue generating enterprises and these institutions faced financial distress, operational inefficiency that hinder their growth and effectiveness.
The President of BRIPAN expressed satisfaction that he had fulfilled his promise to ensure that the association did not have its presence only in Lagos State but across all the six geo-political zones in the country.
He added that the association has more than 2,100 registered members which cut across lawyers, accountants and other related financial experts while 150 persons were undergoing training for membership.
The BRIPAN two-day South-East Summit was declared open by the Deputy Governor of Imo state, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru, who assured the organisation of the state’s readiness to welcome them.
The Deputy Governor expressed regret that the State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, would have been there in person to declare the summit open, but was unavoidably absent. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
