Why Plateau suspended trade fair for four years – PLACCIMA president

The Plateau Chamber of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture has said security challenge has been the major factor that prevented the chamber from organizing the Jos Trade Fair in the last four years.
The President of the PLACCIMA, Elder Bulus Dareng, told reporters in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that with the return of peace to Plateau State, the chambers is set for the 2016 Jos Trade Fair.
Dareng said efforts are in top gear to ensure that all things being equal, the 2016 trade fair would take place from October 18 to 29 at the Jos Polo Field and would be attended by local, national and international exhibitors.
According to him: “The long silence of not having the trade fair since 2011 was as a result of the crises that engulfed the state.
“If we had organized a trade fair during that period, many people outside the state wouldn’t have come and the aim would have been defeated.
“As it is now, Plateau is relatively peaceful.
“We know that it cannot be completely peaceful because the security situation is all over the country.
“We know that the security situation in the country is generally bad, but like the French, the Germans and the Americans would say, we remain resolute and move on with life without succumbing to few distractive elements.”
Dareng added that the demise of the former president of the chamber, Senator Silas Janfa, also contributed to the non-staging of the yearly event.
The PLACCIMA president further said the chamber was also unable to get the necessary support from the previous administration in the state because of the prevailing situation it was grappling with in the face of dwindling economy.
He said the present government is giving the chamber every support it needed and the security situation has greatly improved.
Dareng added: “If we have a barometer, we would say that security situation has improved to 80 per cent and that 80 per cent builds the confidence of people outside who are willing to come.
“The situation is very ripe for the trade fair and the government has given us the confidence that there would be adequate security on ground and people who want to participate in the fair should not be afraid.”
Dareng said the fair, which would be the best ever organised on the Plateau, if not Nigeria, would further build confidence and expose investors to the economic potentials of the state.
The president stressed that the business community would interact with those outside the state with a view to expanding their business scope.
He said to ensure a successful event, the chamber had constituted committees ranging from security to logistics, which are working hard to ensure that every detail is taken care of.
According to Dareng, the chamber is working with a competent consultant, Anista Marketing and Events Limited, that has conducted trade fairs in many parts of the country and was confident of the outcome.