Awakening the Sleeping Giant

Speech Delivered By Dr. Alex C. Otti, OFR, The Governor of Abia State On The Occasion Of The Commissioning Of 3 Roads In Aba on Friday, September 15, 2023.

Protocols

1. It is with a great sense of fulfilment that I welcome everyone who had come here to witness the commissioning of the first set of road projects in our long list of programmes to rebuild Aba, the famous Enyimba City and restore its glory as a leading commercial city in West Africa.
2. Permit me once again to express my heartfelt gratitude to the great people of Aba for believing in our team, sharing in our vision and supporting us with everything at your disposal even when it seemed that the forces against us were more powerful than our resolve.
3. I thank you for not giving up, for your courage in accompanying us through the wilderness and for being resolute in your conviction that things cannot remain the way they had been over the last two decades and more.
4. The enthusiasm on the faces of our people across the world these days is happening because you stood firm, refusing to be blackmailed, intimidated or cajoled into accepting defeat.
5. We are therefore obliged to do our best to repay the enormous confidence and trust you have in us. We will commit everything available to us to guarantee that what is delivered to Aba, in terms of infrastructural development, social investment programmes and economic expansion vehicles are exactly what you ordered.
6. You can take it for granted that under my watch, Aba would be rebuilt with world class infrastructure and social investment tools to support the city’s long-standing tradition of commerce and enterprise.
7. Never again shall this great city be associated with mediocrity, filth and unhealthy physical realities that only dent the image of our beloved Enyimba as a resilient destination for multiple economic activities, family life and leisure.
8. We are not here to merely excite you and make highfalutin promises that would yield nothing at the end of the day. No. Ours is a proactive administration and from the modest but noteworthy achievements of the last hundred days, you will agree that we have a clear vision of what we seek to achieve.
9. Our plan for Aba is very clear: make the right decisions, invest money where they would have optimal multiplier effect on the economic and social life of the residents and open the city up for private investors from across the world to move in and take advantage of the enormous human and material resources that this town has been blessed with.
10. We are investing heavily in road projects because it has been proven that roads are great economic enablers and a direct message to economic actors that a path to harnessing the opportunities that lie within the territory had been created.
11. This is exactly what we are doing with the three roads being commissioned today namely, Shallom, Cemetery and Emelogu Roads. We are here to commission these roads not necessarily to show that we are working because most residents of Aba can attest that indeed, a new thing is happening.
12. We have come because the world needs to know that Aba is back; as a favourite investment destination, a thriving commercial hub and a goldmine of opportunities. We are here, not to pat ourselves on the back but to let the message out that any serious investor who is not already setting up shops in Aba may find himself playing second fiddle in no time.
13. It would also be important to inform you that we have extracted a strong commitment from Abuja that work would soon commence on the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway. We thank the Federal Government for appreciating the enormous importance of that stretch of road not just to businesses in Aba but also to those in Rivers and other neighbouring states.
14. While we are moving fast to fix the roads, because, our vision and programmes are far more robust and all encompassing. We have a plan to build transport hubs, family-friendly recreational facilities and ICT-Innovation parks in different parts of Aba and across the state.
15. Additionally, we are speaking with investors who are keen on partnering with existing shareholders to deliver a world class hotel and conference centre at the site of the present Enyimba Hotels.
16. We are working to get the commercial and legal frameworks ready before the end of the year and when that is done, Aba would become, not just a city that is renowned for trade and commerce, but a favourite destination for global business and social events.
17. Our desire is to build the best of everything in Aba; the best roads, best of modern markets, best hospital facilities and of course, the best hotels and conference centres.
18. The goal is to turn Aba into a modern ecosystem that can attract and retain the best brains in businesses, ICT, arts and entertainment and just about every other worthwhile human endeavour.
19. Our plan for Aba is holistic and all we shall require is your consistent support to achieve that lofty agenda. Pay your taxes as and when due, do not dump refuse indiscriminately and cooperate with security agents to stamp out crime from the city. Remember, nothing meaningful can be accomplished without the active support of the residents.
20. As I conclude, let me acknowledge that I have received pockets of complaints about extortion of small-scale businesses and transporters by various groups. Let me warn that there shall be no tolerance for such behaviours and conducts as they run contrary to the spirit of the New Abia. Please be courageous to report those involved in such activities and we shall deal with them according to the dictates of the law.
21. May I also make it clear that we remain committed to putting an end to the activities of touts and their sponsors. I shall deploy all necessary mechanism of government to make life difficult for those who go against government directives under any guise. We are a society of law and order and whoever considers himself too big to operate within the laws must immediately relocate elsewhere.
22. Let me again assure all law abiding citizens that the New Abia is the place to be. We shall continue to strengthen our security systems architecture to be able to guarantee the safety of life and property in all parts of the state.
23. I am glad about the improvements that have been made in the last four weeks following the launch of “operation crush” but we must never rest on our oars. Our goal is to build a crime free society where individuals and businesses can go about their activities without fear of unsavoury developments.
24. Thank you for listening and may God bless you, umu nne m.

Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
Governor
Abia State