The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has restated his
government’s commitment to provide enabling environment for trade and
commerce to thrive in the state.
Governor Ikpeazu was speaking when he paid a courtesy visit to the British
High commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Ankwright, at the British High
Commission in Abuja.
He appealed to British companies and investors to come and invest in Abia.
He said he was at the British High Commission to solicit for collaboration
and partnership from the British Government and people to further develop
Abia State.
Governor Ikpeazu stressed that Abia state is strong in small and medium
enterprises (SME).
He added that Aba, which he described as the SME capital of Nigeria, has
talents and craftsmen.
These, according to him, can drive the economy of Nigeria towards
accelerated growth and prosperity.
He identified some of the major challenges affecting the drive for trade
and commerce expansion in the state to include infrastructural decay,
especially in the area of federal roads and epileptic power supply.
He noted that it is also difficult to access good water supply at homes.
The governor appealed for assistance in the areas of capacity building,
training and support for tax reforms.
He also assured that his government is working hard to quickly meet some
of the identified challenges in order to position the state as the number
one investment destination in Nigeria.
According to him, the commercial city of Aba hopes to benefit from the
independent power of Geometric power Limited.
It will commence operation as soon as the federal government is able to
resolve the impasse between the independent power provider and the
distribution firms.
He maintained that a lot has been done to ensure adequate security in the
state.
However, resources are still required to step up security through
acquiring security surveillance systems in addition to other security
infrastructure and technologies as the state has seamless borders with
many states that are also security challenged.
Responding, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Ankwright,
said the British Government assistance is currently focused on attacking
poverty and humanitarian crises among others.
He promised to talk to his colleagues at DFID to see how they can come in
and assist the government and people of Abia State.
He also noted that part of his job involves alerting British companies to
opportunities for investment and encouraging them to come and invest.
He assured the Governor that he will communicate the opportunities
available in Abia to British investors.
The Governor was accompanied on the visit by the commissioner for finance,
Honorable Obinna Oriaku.