Otti hints on plans to make Abia best in ease of doing business
… Creates Master Plan to guide development of Aba for 30 years
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, says his administration is desirous of making Abia the best in terms of ease of doing business in Nigeria in the next one year.
Otti who disclosed this in Aba, said his plan was equally to make the Abia commercial hub one of the most modern commercial and industrial cities around the globe and to create a Master Plan that would guide the development of the city of Aba.
A statement by the Chief Secretary o the Governor, Kazie Uko, disclosed that the Governor conveyed some of his administration’s plans for the rebuilding the Enyimba City through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Aba Rejuvenation, Mr. Uche Ukeje, who was on a familiarisation visit to the commercial city, where he met with some select groups, including the leadership of Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) and executives of Aba Landlords Protection and Development Association (ALPADA).
Ukeje thanked ACCIMA for their continued faith in the city and promised to ensure that the state tops the chart in the ease of doing business index in Nigeria in the next 12 months.
The SSA praised the resilience of the entrepreneurs, who, he said, had continued to base and grow their businesses in Aba in spite of infrastructural deficit and lack of support by previous administrations in the state.
Ukeje, an architect, while meeting with the ALPADA leadership, told them that his visit was in keeping with Governor Otti’s promise to the good people of Aba to make the renewal and redevelopment of the city a top priority of his administration.
He said that the present government would not only address the current infrastructural shortfalls, but would create a Master Plan, to guide the development of the city for the next 30 years.
The SSA thanked the Landlords and informed them that Dr. Otti was passionate about redeveloping Aba into one of the most modern commercial and industrial cities in the world and sought their cooperation and support.
In his remarks, the ACCIMA President, Chief Jerry Kalu (Osimiri), who spoke on behalf of his group, commended Governor Otti for staying true to his promise of rebuilding Aba.
Kalu recounted Otti’s campaign promise to create a special vehicle for the comprehensive development of Aba and thanked the Governor for keeping that promise early on in his administration.
According to the ACCIMA President, “making Aba work would be tantamount to making Abia state and the entire South East work.”
On the other hand, the ALPADA identified challenges facing landlords in Aba to include lack of access roads into and within the city, indiscriminate location of markets and motor parks, lack of drainages, ineffective waste management plan, lack of portable water and other basic amenities and insecurity.
They also identified some of the roads they would like to see the administration rebuild.
