Abia State on the Spotlight: An Insight Into 2025.
By Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Abia State.
The National and Global attention on Abia State in 2024 was driven and propelled by intentional and deliberate policies and programmes of Governor Alex Otti tailored with precision to tackle and address major enablers of development and growth.
The 2024 budget was a bold statement demonstrating the intended trajectory of the Government in the just ended fiscal year. A budget with 84 percent projected capital expenditure provided a reflective mirror to investors and the outcome will become full-blown and manifest in 2025. The 82 percent capital expenditure envelope in 2025 was tailored to sustain and consolidate the momentum and gains of the 2024 budget.
The momentum was on Abia State in 2024 and with the signing of the 2025 appropriation bill into law, Governor Alex Otti has shown genuine and serious resolve and commitment to sustain the trajectory with 82 percent projected capital expenditure in the total 2025 budget envelope.
The gains and impact of the 2024 budget performance will be more visible in 2025. The investment so far made by the State in the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare centres and institutions, public schools and institutions of higher learning, road and drainage Infrastructures, public buildings, environmental waste and erosion control, security and public order, agriculture and youth empowerment, civil and public service reforms, support and empowerment of nano and small businesses, and stimulation of the economy through regular and timely payment of salaries and pensions including defraying of arrears of salaries owed by the immediate past administration have opened the State for businesses and investments.
The Government has an ambitious plan to catapult the State to No. 1 in the ease of doing business index. The strategic Education and Health sectors for the second time got the highest allocation of 20% and 15% respectively in the total 2025 budget envelope. The Government is poised to complete several ongoing projects and start new ones, make healthcare services accessible to urban and rural dwellers, return public schools to her past glories and reverse the trend and perception of private schools as choice destination for quality education. The State has put robust policies in place to eradicate the menace of out of school children to improve the human capital development of the State.
The 2024 Abia State windows of development and growth enablers ended with the ground-breaking of the Abia Airport Project at Nsulu in Isialangwa North LGA. The 2025 windows will open with the ground-breaking of the 5-Star Enyimba Hotels in Aba to boost the hospitality industry and attract other related investment in the value-chain including the proposed leisure park in Aba. The Abia Medical Village, Abia Games Village, Abia Entertainment Village, Abia Smart City, the City Gates, the already flagged-off Abia Industrial and Innovative Park (AIIP) and Abia Transport Terminal (ATT) are all in pole position to transform and revolutionize growth and development in Abia State.
In the first quarter of 2025, a freshly minted fabrication clusters and corridors of Port-Harcourt Road by the construction giant, Julius Berger will be commissioned for use by the public. The highly strategic Ohanku Road with clusters of medium scale industries and concentration of small scale producers will be commissioned and opened for use by the public. Several other projects will be commissioned and flagged-off both in Abia South, Abia Central and Abia North to actualize the Government planned accelerated even development across the State.
The State under Governor Otti is making tremendous progress in raising the commercial Capital status of Aba, the Enyimba City, upgrading Umuahia to a modern Capital City and transforming the Greater Ohafia into the Livestock Capital of the South-East using Greater Aba Development Agency (GADA), Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA) and Greater Ohafia Development Authority (GODA) as special purpose vehicles (SPV) to drive the initiatives and processes.
2025 is Abia O’clock.
Ctz. UKOHA NJOKU UKOHA
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State.
