Pix shows Governor Alex Otti, during the flag off of the 11.7-kilometre Mbala-Umuaku-Ngodo road in Umunneochi LGA on Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Abia plans multi-billion naira industrial facility for Umunneochi … Otti flags off 12.7-kilometre Mbala-Umuaku-Ngodo Road
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Umunneochi local government area, the gateway to Abia State, is to host a multi-billion naira agro-industrial processing facility, Governor Alex Otti has announced.
Governor Otti who used the occasion of the flag off ceremony of the 11.27-kilometre Mbala-Umuaku-Ngodo Road in the local government to unfold his administration’s plan to industrialise Umunneochi, said that not community in the state would be left behind in his administration’s development agenda.
Performing the flag-off on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at Ngodo-Umuada Junction, Governor Otti said Umunneochi was chosen for the industrial facility because of the numerous solid mineral resources deposited in the bowels of the local government.
The Governor who titled his address: ”Connecting Communities, Spreading Prosperity,” also said that Umunneochi occupies a unique place in the geography and socio-economic evolution of Abia State in particular, and the South East region in general. Umunneochi shares boundaries with all states in the South East.
He said that the road projected to be completed in 12 months, was the beginning of what his administration has in store for the local government.
“In view of the significance of this local government area to our agricultural development agenda, taking cognisance of the cashew belt and other export-friendly agro commodities that are massively cultivated around this region, I am glad to inform this august gathering that Umunneochi has been selected as one of the three locations where we will site a multi- billion naira agro-industrial processing facility in this administration,” the Governor disclosed.
He explained that the facility has been structured to radically transform the agricultural ecosystem in the State, and would integrate production, aggregation and processing of agro-commodities for local consumption and export.
“It shall come with dedicated infrastructure, including independent energy ecosystem,” Governor Otti told the excited crowd.
He also revealed that since the monster of insecurity has been sufficiently tamed in Umunneochi, the state and the local government leaderships would collaborate to create robust systems to actively put the dormant economic resources within and around Umuchieze district to good use; especially the livestock and allied market in Lokpa and the solid mineral deposits within the community.
“This time, we shall go beyond just primary production and begin to add value to whatever is mined from the ground to increase their economic value and the benefits to the local communities.
“We shall partner with interested investor groups to establish a robust hub of legitimate economic activities within the zone, creating jobs, and varieties of opportunities for our young people,” the Governor promised.
The Governor further assured that in other communities within the LGA, his administration would invest in the development of production-support infrastructure to improve economic outputs and help our people to earn the right reward for their labour.
“We are committed to creating an environment that promotes the productivity of the general population while giving them the leverage to flourish and become the best in their respective trades and enterprises. The days of being disadvantaged because you are not living in the urban centres are over,” he assured.
He also announced that the Leru – Lekwesi – Lokpanta – Lokpaukwu road which the people had requested him to fix has already been earmarked for reconstruction by his administration. He therefore directed the Commissioner for Works to inspect the Nmang Bridge in the area which the people equally requested him to fix and report back to enable him to plan how to fix it.
The Governor thanked the people for their support to his administration and said that the success in the restoration of security in Umunneochi points to the unity among its leaders.
“May I seize this opportunity to thank you for your steadfast commitment to our cause and for consistently supporting the vision of a new Abia where no part of the State is abandoned to criminal elements.
“Our success in the restoration of security in this part, points to what is possible when we work in unity as leaders to solve the social and economic problems facing our communities.
“We may belong to different political leanings and groups, but the welfare of the good people of Umunneochi must never be sacrificed on the altar of petty partisan politics,” Gov. Otti said.
The member representing Isuikwuato /Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Chief Amobi Ogah and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejiocha, described the project as a unifying factor for the entire Umunneochi people and thanked Governor Otti for coming to the rescue of the people.
They thanked the Governor for what he was doing in the State and appealed to him to assist in fixing the Nmang Bridge in the local government.
In their remarks, the member representing Umunneochi State Constituency, Chief Mathias Umeh, and the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije, said the Mbala -Umuaku – Ngodo road was strategic to the economy of Abia State and other south East states. They also thanked the Governor for his infrastructural revolution across the state.
Earlier, in his address, the Commissioner for Works, Engr. Otumchere Oti, noted that the corridor harbours agrarian communities producing different agricultural produce such as cashew, cassava, yams and black beans in commercial quantity. The Commissioner said that the road construction would open up the communities for greater economic opportunities.
When the road is completed, Engr. Oti noted, it faciltate growth in agribusiness in the area and provide direct and indirect employments for both skilled and unskilled manpower; and by extension, would impact positively on the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.
