The Federal Government has begun exploring fresh measures to support businesses in Abia State, with particular focus on the Aba textile and garment cluster and the agricultural sector.
The Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, John Uwajimogu, disclosed this on Wednesday when he led a Federal Government delegation on a visit to Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, in his office.
Uwajimogu said the visit was aimed at strengthening collaboration between the Federal Government and Abia State and identifying areas where federal projects, investments and programmes could be deployed to accelerate economic development.
He said the Federal Government had recognised Aba’s significant industrial capacity, particularly its thriving textile and garment businesses, and was examining ways to tackle the major challenges confronting operators in the sector.
According to him, infrastructure and access to finance remained among the major constraints affecting businesses in the cluster.
“One of the biggest things that we see coming out of Abia State is the strong industrial capacity in Aba, particularly in the textile and garments sector,” Uwajimogu said.
He added that the Federal Government was looking at interventions that could help businesses overcome those constraints and expand their operations.
“We have been thinking of how, from the federal level, we can support the businesses that are working in that sector and have come up with ideas on how we can address some of the biggest binding constraints that they often face, one being infrastructure and the other one being finance,” he said.
Uwajimogu said the Federal Government was also interested in bringing more of its projects and programmes to Abia, stressing that stronger cooperation between the two levels of government would create opportunities for investment and job creation.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, Cornelius Adebayo, said the agency was seeking the state government’s support to establish a major agricultural project in Abia.
Adebayo said NALDA’s mandate was centred on using agriculture as a tool for poverty reduction and economic empowerment.
He specifically sought the state government’s assistance in providing suitable land for the authority’s Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate programme.
According to him, the initiative is designed to bring farmers together, provide basic infrastructure and security, improve access to agricultural inputs and markets, and create sustainable sources of income.
Adebayo expressed optimism that Abia could host a major NALDA agricultural project, including a processing facility, and appealed to the governor to support the initiative.
Responding, Governor Otti said his administration was ready to partner with NALDA and other stakeholders to unlock the state’s agricultural potential.
The governor noted that despite Abia’s relatively small landmass, the state had fertile and arable land suitable for the production of crops including cassava, yam, cocoyam, oil palm and cashew.
Otti said increased investment in agriculture was necessary to boost local production and reduce the pressure placed on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market by food imports.
He said the proposed agricultural initiatives were in line with his administration’s drive to expand production and strengthen the state’s economy.
