The Mayor of Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, Barrister Chijioke Nwankwo, has commended Governor Alex Otti, for constituting the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council in his efforts to rejig the state.
Barrister Nwankwo, who spoke in an interview with newsmen shortly after attending the inauguration of the economic team in Government House, Umuahia, described the initiative as a step in the right direction by Gov. Otti to reposition Abia economically as the nest investment hub of Nigeria.
According to him, ” Abia economy would become robust again through this team and with the calibre of members of the AGEAC who were drawn from among top notch economist and financial experts, we are optimistic that they would bring their wealth of experiences and expertise in various sectors to bear in the economic development of Abia state” he said.
However, inaugurating the team, Gov. Otti said that the vision is to turn Abia state into a favourite destination for all categories of investments leveraging on the many opportunities that abound in the land.
The Abia governor listed the advantages the state has to include agro-friendly environment, steady supply of skilled and unskilled labour, tax friendly regime, nearness to regional and global markets.
He also named other selling points of Abia to includes business-supportive government and abundance of varieties of in-demand raw materials as reasons why the state is ready to welcome investors.
Meanwhile, the 19-member team is chaired by Dr. Arunma Oteh with HRH Khalifa Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Bolaji Balogun, a financial market guru, serving as Co-chairs.
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation(WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the President of Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah were named honorary advisors.
Victor Onyenkpa and Ifueko Omogui Okauru, who had served in Otti’s transition council as Chair and Co-Chair to produce the strategy document that the government has been working with were included in the new team.
In his address, entitled “A new frontier of excellence: From vision to execution,” Otti stressed the importance of the AGEAC to his government, saying that he was determined to roll back the carpet of stagnation.
According to him, “the calibre of people in the team has already sent a strong signal to interested observers that Abia is poised to become the next big thing” he further stated.
