Navy Flags Off Construction Of International Shopping Mall In Rivers

The National President of the Nigerian Navy Officers Wives Association (NOWA), Mrs Nana Aisha Gambo, on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Nigerian Navy International Shopping Mall in Borokiri axis of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the shopping mall, the wife of Chief of Naval Staff, said the foundation laying ceremony of the shopping mall marks an important landmark in the history of NOWA family and the people of Rivers State.

Mrs Gambo said the availability of quality human capacity through enhanced welfare packages remains a critical imperative for NOWA.

Gambo said the empowerment of naval families is dependent on appropriate provision of key welfare programmes such as the establishment of avenues through which families of personnel could be gainfully engaged in entrepreneurship, trade and investments as well as other commercial activities.

She said the foundation stone laying ceremony of the International shopping mall is a culmination of the need to provide a world-class reputable avenue for businesses to thrive in it’s localities saying that the mall when completed will offer a wide range of benefits including variety of products being available in one space, prevent unnecessary search for goods at various points within the town and creating a serene and secured environment for ease of transactions among traders.

“In addition, the mall will create opportunity for interactions both at local and international levels.The initiative to establish the NOWA International Shopping Mall was driven by the need to bequeath the present and generations yet unborn with a sustainable quality enterprise by NOWA, while contributing to national development. To this end, the Mall is modeled to be a multi – dimensional network of departmental stores. This Shopping Mall is also unique as it is birthed through a Public-Private Partnership arrangement”

“Together, our partnership has laboured to give birth to this amazing concept which we are all gathered to witness here today. The credit for the acquisition of the parcel of land for this project should rightly be accorded to one of the iconic leaders of NOWA and a former NOWA National President, Mrs Treasure Afolayan. The parcel of land was earlier conceptualized to be a model lock up shops. However, on my assumption of office, following a review of the NOWA’s Plan to provide a world class facilities across the country for its members, this was considered as one of such projects”