Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has charged managers of the newly commissioned Aba Export Growth Lab to maintain strict standards and ensure that only products which meet global specifications are certified for export.
Governor Otti gave the charge, Tuesday , during the commissioning of the facility located within the premises of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.
The Governor emphasised that the Lab must serve as a catalyst to help local entrepreneurs structure their production processes, standardise, package and brand their goods to compete internationally at the global market.
“Things must be done right and any product that does not pass the test, don’t be sympathetic. Fail it, so that we can start afresh and get it to such a specification that we have defined.
“So for those who are in one way or the other associated with the Export Growth Lab, the output should be second to none. It would be sad, if you have passed a product and the product fails the test elsewhere”, the Governor said.
He noted that the international market can not be deceived and insisted that only products that meet required standards would succeed globally.
“What we have come here to do is to support our people to structure their production, standardise, package and brand their products in such a way that it will be competitive in the international market.
“And you know the international market is not deceived. So, even what we are doing here today, they know.
“By the time you finish packaging your product, if it meets the standards, they will buy. And yourself, you will be convinced that you have done enough work to support that product to be sold outside the shelves of this country”, the Governor said.
He reiterated that the initiative was not designed as a revenue-generating venture for the state but as practical support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Abia.
“We don’t require money as government from here. So, if anybody is coming to tell you, oh! government wants to make money, it’s not true because it’s not a money making investment for the State.
“This is our own support to our people, the Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises”, Governor Otti added.
Earlier in his address, the Commissioner for Industry and SMEs, Mr Mike Akpara, described the Lab as a crucial pathway for Aba and Abia businesses to penetrate the global market.
He disclosed that the pilot phase targets 20 businesses with an initial focus on three sectors, Akwete cloth, footwear and fashion apparel.
In her remarks, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms Elsie Attafuah, commended Governor Otti’s visionary leadership which made the project possible.
She assured of the UNDP’s commitment to the initiative, stating that Abia could spearhead Africa’s industrial renaissance.
“Through this project, the Southeast can rise as a regional corridor of productivity, investments, and jobs”, Ms Attafuah said.
Also speaking, the representative of the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank, Mrs Nkeiru Ezenwanne, pledged the bank’s support for the state government’s efforts to boost sustainable job creation and economic growth through export diversification.
She reaffirmed NEXIM’s commitment to driving growth in key value chains such as agro-processing, manufacturing, garments, leather and pharmaceuticals, in line with its mandate to expand Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
The Ceremony also featured a presentation by the Chief Executive of Transaharan Consulting, Mr Francis Anatogu, and an inspection of a product exhibition by Governor Otti, UNDP officials and other senior government functionaries.
