Real estate investor and entertainment enthusiast, My-ACE China, has rolled out plans to make Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital to compete with Lagos, currently, Nigeria’s entertainment capital in talent hunt shows or programmes.
While speaking on the sidelines of his emergence as the winner of the 2024 Man of the Year Award by Dez Moma Awards Academy in Port Harcourt, China who is also known as the Mayor of Housing, said that in 2025 he would be doing things with the youths of Rivers to push the Port Harcourt brand in the social media and rally the traditional press to create a positive narrative of Rivers State beyond violence and political negativity.
He stressed the need for more sponsorship of talents in Port Harcourt and the Niger Delta, noting that what they lacked was support.
“There is more talent in Port Harcourt but there is more support in Lagos to artistes than in Port Harcourt. So, the top talents in Port Harcourt work 10 times harder than those in Lagos to attract sponsorship,” he observed.
He also said Nigeria has a treasure base which is Port Harcourt but that the treasure is not oil and gas but talents adding that he was highly elated to win the Man of the Year with his firm winning brand of the year.
He said; “The Garden City has not been enjoying the best of media perception for some years now but this is the first time we have a governor committed to non-political bias in doing his work.
“He does not consider whether you are a member of his party or not before doing what is right. For the first time, we have a true father of the state to all, and he has been diligently following the blue print that stakeholders developed at the last Rivers Economic and Investment Summit, making sure he is doing it without political cronyism”.
China said that his company would be building the biggest and best estate, the ‘Alesa Sustainable Smart City, to move from brand perception to brand experience so as to move Rivers State to the next level.
He appealed to entrepreneurs not to be carried away by the old perception but to join the new way.
“Position yourself because there is going to be a boom. People are rushing into Port Harcourt and new entrants may take the ground. Think expansion not contraction, think investment not divestment. Else, you miss it.”
He admonished other estate investors, to gear up for regulation.
“It is no longer going to be business as usual, especially for land peddling and land grabbing. Try to grow up because tangible development is going to take over.
“It is no longer going to be who sells the most land but who develops the most houses. The housing deficit in the land requires effective land development strategies. Any serious land seller should grow into a housing developer because developments are going to be coming into Rivers State and a lot of people are coming into the state.”
He said those that have grown to be developers will be many times richer than those that are just starting or are mere land sellers and peddlers. People should also position themselves because all the foreign investments and local ones will take advantage of this influx.
He went on: “The value of influx is coming, so prepare and take advantage. Be one of those that are big enough to take advantage. Remaining small will not be good but grow big in your products, in your services, because the market is going to grow big.”
The Mayor of Housing was announced by board of trustees of the Dez Moma Awards Academy in Port Harcourt even as the organisers also declared his company, the Construction and Housing Mayor Limited as the brand promoter of the year, the third in a row.
Organisers of the award in a statement by Dr Ezebunwo Nyeche, chairman, and Stephen Chidiebere Okoye said that China was picked for his support and impact on small and medium enterprises in Rivers State, his media footsteps, and his consistent propagation and promotion of Rivers.
They noted that China won over 10 prestigious awards in 2024 alone on its track to promote Port Harcourt as a brand destination and Rivers as a peaceful state.
Handing the award to China, the organisers said the Mayor of Housing always comes to the rescue of events that aim to promote Rivers, saying the Dez Momaaàaàà Awards would be held in two more cities in 2025.
