Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has expressed his administration’s commitment to collaborating with international organizations and donor agencies to propel the state forward.
Governor Otti stated this when he received in audience, a delegation of the International Organization For Migration (IOM) an Inter-Governmental Organization led by the representative of the mission to Nigeria, Mr Victor Lutenco.
The IOM’s mission revolves around safeguarding the rights and well-being of migrants, fostering a deeper understanding of migration issues, and promoting the sustainable development of communities.
Governor Otti emphasized his administration’s dedication to addressing irregular migration by prioritizing the state’s infrastructure development, with a focus on job creation and reducing unemployment levels among the population.
The Governor further noted that his administration is actively involved in addressing insecurity through job creation adding that the present administration is actively engaged in 21st-century opportunities that would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
He highlighted the unemployment rate among the people noting that his administration’s primary solution lies in generating employment opportunities and added that job creation is directly linked to the need for improved infrastructure and a more favorable business environment.
“Abia has 51% unemployment rate and our major solution is to create jobs for the people. You can not create jobs with infrastructural decay and lack of ease of doing business”, Otti stated.
The Governor revealed that the state government is actively supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and is investing in critical infrastructural projects, such as road development, electricity supply, social infrastructure, and healthcare systems across the three senatorial zones of the state, all aimed at curbing irregular migration.
Governor Otti who underscored the importance of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) as a means to boost the people’s confidence in the system expressed commitment to creating opportunities for Abians to thrive locally and compete favourably in the global job market.
He assured that the government would provide comprehensive support to the organization and urged them to contemplate establishing an office in the state, given Abia’s central location, which would extend the benefits of their services to other South East and South-South states as well.
In his speech earlier, the leader of the delegation Mr Victor Lutenco emphasized that one of the organization’s top priorities is maximizing the role of migration in development and added that the IOM’s work aligns well with Governor Otti’s transformation agenda and can be complementary to the state’s objectives.
Mr Lutenco noted that the IOM is involved in development of policies and strategies for effective migration management, promotion of linkages between migration and development and plays crucial role in providing humanitarian aid to migrants in crisis situation to displaced population among other services.
He lauded Governor Otti’s commitment to development saying that that they came to Abia because they found the Governor as an embodiment of trust and the new face of development in Abia and sought the partnership of the state to advance the IOM’s objectives.
