In its latest release, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics revealed that Abia State had the third highest capital inflow among the 36 States of the federation including the FCT for the year 2020.
Lagos had the highest of $8.3bn followed by Abuja with $1.3bn and then Abia with $56m.
Abia’s rise on this index is a result of deliberate policies put in place by the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led administration.
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Governor rolled out mouth watering tax waivers to both existing and potential investors. These waivers coupled with Government’s commitment to fight the pandemic, security of lives and property, promotion of MSMEs, amicable resolution of industrial disputes etc, boosted the confidence of investors in the State.
For instance, as part of tax palliatives to investors during the 2020 pandemic era, the Abia State Government gave the following tax reliefs to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic on firms:
WAIVER/DISCOUNT
Waive 2 of the 3 years for all arrears paid before end of July 2020
Waive 1 of 3 years for payment in August 2020
5. LANDS
Purpose Clause
WAIVER/DISCOUNT
Reduced registration cost from N30,000 to:
N20,000 Payments made in July 2020
N25,000 Payments made in August 2020
6. LANDS
Certificate of Occupancy (CofO)
WAIVER/DISCOUNT
Reduced the cost by the following percentage for Urban Areas and Rural Areas:
July 2020: 50% of assessed fee
August 2020: 40% of assessed fee
September 2020: 30% of assessed fee
October 2020: 20% of assessed fee
November 2020: 15% of assessed fee.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu further demonstrated his commitment to other investment indices by commencing the Kinetic Abia programme which was a series of projects inspection and commissioning starting from August 2020.
