We Will Return Aba Back As The Economic Capital Of South East ------ Abia Govt.

The Abia State government has reiterated it's commitment towards returning Aba back as the economic capital in the South East and Nigeria in general . 

The declaration came through the Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief Okiyi Kalu while reacting to the state’s emergence as the third most-preferred investment destination in Nigeria pointing out that the achievement came as a result of the deliberate policies of the state government tailored towards economic recovery.

It will interest you to note that the recent release by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) placed Abia in ranking as the third state with the highest foreign capital inflow among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory for the year 2020.

According to the NBS release, Lagos had the highest inflow at $8.3 billion, followed by Abuja with $1.3 billion while Abia came third with $56 million.

The information commissioner therefore said the feat was recorded because trade and commerce occupy a central place in the development pillars index of the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led government who came on board as the Chief promoter of made-in-Abia goods, and was also bent on making Abia the investment capital of West Africa.

In his words ,Sir Okiyi said " During the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Governor Ikpeazu magnanimously gave tax waivers to business enterprises in the state to enabled them remain in business. Which shows Dr. Ikpeazu’s uncommon passion for the promotion of small and medium enterprises, SME; ease of doing business, " 

On why investors are running massively into Abia state for investment Sir John Okiyi identified the multi-billion dollars Enyimba Economic City (EEC) project as one of the investors’ confidence boasters even as the  government also granted special incentives to firms and SMEs in arrears of taxes and other levies.

According to him “For those in arrears of Abia Property and Land Use Charge, Abia, PLUC, the government waived two of the three years for all arrears paid before end of July 2020 and one of three years for payments made after August 2020. For payments associated with Change of Purpose Clause for property use, the government provided for reduction of the registration cost from a flat fee of N30,000 to N20,000 for payments made in July 2020 and N25,000 for payments made in August 2020."

“For issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), the government collected only 50 percent of the assessed fee for payments made in July and reduced the proportion of waiver by 10 percent for each month up till October, i.e. collecting 20 percent of assessed fee by October 2020. Dr.  Ikpeazu’s also subscribed to the World Bank-sponsored States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme with the state enjoying the highest rating within the South-East and South-South regions of the country, as well as being in the top five percent of best performing states in Nigeria." 

“Through this programme, state governments are assessed for transparency in financial management and reporting with the World Bank and Office of the Auditor General of the federation” He therefore  assured investors of a convivial business environment in Abia since  the state government was fully committed to providing and rebuilding the necessary infrastructure that would help bring down the cost of doing business in the state.

It will interest you to note that the  ongoing road revolution in Aba is part of efforts to make Aba the economic capital of the South-East.He concluded by urging both local and foreign investors to make Abia their investment destination, assuring them of the security of their investments.