The Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has disclosed that the federal government has taken 20% equity worth N100billion in the proposed Enyimba Economic City, which he described as a flagship project. Ikpeazu stated this in his second term inaugural address at the Umuahia Township Stadium, Umuahia, the state capital, saying it will be one of the legacy projects of his administration. According to him, the proposed city spreads over 9,800 Hectres of massive industrial area spanning through three local government areas of Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, and Ukwa West of the state.
He said: “The city will create 650,000 jobs, 300,000 units of urban housing, residence for one and a half million people who will work there, 2,000 industrial/business units, and an annual value output of $5billion.†He argued that when completed the ripple effects of the project on the state and its neighbours as the economic hub of the South East geopolitical zone is better still imagined, praying that it succeeds. He said, “I would like to, at this juncture, thank President Muhammadu Buhari for looking beyond partisan political lines to give his full blessing to this project.
As a people, we are eternally grateful to him.†He commended the former minister for Industries, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, “who I proclaim a worthy Abian for his painstaking efforts in ensuring the realization of the project.†Ikpeazu said seamless interface with the government has anabled the Aba production hub to be in the centre of every Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises conversation in the country and beyond. He said: “Abia State has become a better corporate citizen in the comity of states.
We are now respected and appreciated as the SME Capital of Nigeria and even beyond Africa.†On education, he said the administration has trained and retrained over 1,500 teachers at all levels in partnership with Australian educators to expose them to international best standards of tutelage. “We have renovated 68 and 304 and secondary and primary schools respectively, and construction of four model secondary schools for modern learning environments for both the pupils and students.â€
In agriculture, the governor said the state has always been renowned as an agrarian state and the centre of agricultural activities in Igbo heartland, saying the land is very fertile and adaptable. He further explained that the state has engaged in a massive palm planting campaign which has so far seen the government plant over four million Tenera specie palm seedlings across the state. Ikpeazu, who said the target is to plant 7.5m seedlings by the end of 2020, added that the government has provided mechanized farming equipment across the state through leasing at affordable rates.
