Investments and development in Abia State would have accelerated far beyond its current level but for poor infrastructure, including roads, power and insecurity, which have restrained investors over the years, Governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) has said.
However, with last month’s (February) commissioning of Geometric Power Station at Aba, Otti’s sustained road infrastructure, improved security and investment incentives, the scenarios may reverse.
The governor spoke, yesterday, at Arochukwu, while flagging off the reconstruction of the abandoned 30-kilometre Arochukwu-Ndiokereke-Ozuabam Road.
The road, after completion, is expected to shorten the time spent to get to Arochukwu from Aba, through Umuahia, the state capital, by about two and one hours.
Earlier on February 7, 2024, the governor also flagged off the reconstruction of the 67-kilometre Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Ohafia Road awarded to three contractors to quicken their completion, vowing that “no part of the state shall be left behind in our push to expand the frontiers of economic and social opportunities for individuals, families and businesses.”
Decrying and lamenting over the gross neglect of roads, which he described as economically viable in the state by previous administrations, the governor said that it was due to their neglect that the state lost many willing investors.
Otti said: “The cost of this neglect on the state’s economy in terms of lost opportunities cannot be quantified, as farmers in rural communities found it difficult to move their produce to the markets, leading to heavy post-harvest losses.
“Most painfully, businessmen and women from different parts of Nigeria and the West African sub-region, who had relied on markets in Aba for supplies, quickly took their patronage to other places and with business returns plummeting, several commercial entities that previously employed thousands of our people quietly closed shops or relocated.”
He reiterated the deliberate resolve of his administration to give roads and other crucial infrastructure rehabilitation priority; hence, doing so demonstrates a practical way of reviving the near-comatose state economy.
