Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said that his administration’s attention on infrastructure and security was to attract investors to drive of the state’s economic development.
Otti stated this at the Government House, Umuahia when he received Lazarus Angbazo, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigerian Infrastructure Corporation, and his team.
He said his administration was willing to collaborate with the Nigeria Infrastructure Corporation in some critical areas of the economy such as agriculture and power.
Otti promised that his administration would further engage with the team to see how to enhance power supply to all parts of the state.
The Abia governor disclosed that the state government was in discussion with Geometric Power on the possibility of transferring excess power from Aba to boost power supply in Umuahia and its environs, a discussion, which he noted, was receiving positive attention.
“For me, governance is about partnership. You can only do so much in the confines of your area, be it the national or sub national. So, for us we feel we need to attract as many partners as possible. That’s why we are deliberate in infrastructure, we know that when you secure the place and provide infrastructure, investors will come.
“We have productive land, the kind of land which speaks to agriculture. Times were in the past when governments relied 100 percent on agriculture.
“The area of agriculture is very critical to our strategy and we want to engage further on that, just like power. Just less than 40 megawatts coming from Geometric today to Aba has changed a lot of things. And if from what we hear, the second turbine is fully commissioned then you will be talking about 80 to 90 megawatts. So, the story will be changed. There are businesses that rely fully on power. So, it is very important we solve the problem of the power in the remaining eight Local Government Areas,” he enthused.
Ikechukwu Monday, commissioner for Power and Energy, in his speech, noted that Abia was blessed with many potential while Aba was the industrial hub of the South East region.
He hinted that Abia State was working on how to increase power supply in the state and would like to partner with the corporation, adding that the state was interested in collaborating with many investors to give Abia people what they want.
Angbazo, earlier in his speech, said they were keen for partnership between Abia State and the corporation.
He explained that the Nigeria Infrastructure Corporation was a government-backed, privately-managed infrastructure vehicle to complement infrastructure in states, adding that their mandate covered power, energy transmission, agriculture and industrialization, among others.
He commended Otti for his leadership style and for bringing credibility to governance, and hinted that they were in the state to key into the government’s plan for restoring Aba’s leadership as an industrial hub.
