Port Harcourt to host West African architecture festival next year

Rivers State has been chosen to host the first Western African Architecture festival next year, which will draw exhibition from about 18 countries to the state, Tonye Oliver Braide, national president, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), said in Port Harcourt.

Details of the event are yet to be unveiled, but Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, the state deputy governor, has announced the commitment of the administration to support the NIA host a successful gathering of West African body of architects.

Banigo also assured the NIA executive, who visited her to disclose the news of the hosting right, that the state was massively upgrading its infrastructure, especially roads, as the state was investor-friendly.

The deputy governor said the choice of Rivers State for the NIA’s national dinner, which is a prelude to the West Architecture festival in the state in 2016, was a way of showcasing the state as peaceful and friendly to investors.

She lauded the NIA for their plans to regulate and control activities of high-rise buildings in the state, noting that it would check the issue of building collapses, assuring the NIA of the state’s support in its programmes.

Governor Nyesom Wike was committed to restoring the glory of Rivers State by tackling the issues of security challenges such as kidnapping and other criminal acts, she equally noted.

The NIA national president, Braide lauded the Governor Wike-led administration for embarking on massive road construction, especially in the Borokiri area of Port Harcourt, where he noted that traffic had been drastically reduced.

He said the governor had given the state a face-lift in six months in office.