Ikpeazu's; Counting on the gains of good Governance in Abia.
By Ikechukwu Iroha
Of great value is the worth of Dr.Ikpeazu's commitment at delivering dividends of good governance to the people of Abia State.
The Governor's meticulous nature has brought with it an elevated level of trust in management of resources.
Abia is a safe heaven for investors with big portfolio of investments. From a business view, the Governor has made tremendous efforts to deepening business relationship with both agencies of Government and the business community.
Youths and unemployed are reaping from that pledge of trust. Government of Ikpeazu has moved a step by collaborating with Federal Government and private investors who are desirous of investing in a fertile ground that is capable of reducing pay back period with high returns on investments.
Investors can now take advantage of the MSME One-Stop-Shop as an incubation and business development center with all the relevant Federal and State MDAs under one roof, providing world class personalized services aimed at invigorating MSMEs in the State.
With the presence of business regulatory and support agencies like BOI ,CAC, SON, NAFDAC ,FIRS in the newly commissioned Investment House, it has made investment trivial and relaxed in the State. Activities in the edifice which was commissioned by the Vice President Prof.Yemi Osibanjo , has eliminated the rigours of business registration and concentration. The MSME One Stop Shop will also provide injection trainings for beneficiaries of the micro loan schemes, the idea is to build their capacities to run successful enterprises. The Governor intends to build a robust state economy driven by entrepreneurs in the middle class. This is both a job creation and empowerment approach in the face of dwindling national economic fortunes. As someone with clear vision of repositioning Abia as an economically self reliant state, the governor believes that when properly equipped with knowledge, capacity and funding MSMEs will play vital role in improving the wellbeing of the citizens of Abia state. Building on areas of comparative advantage, rather than reinvent the wheel Governor is leveraging in areas Abians already have great advantages- trade and commerce.
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Abia State Government with this successful Federal government collaboration, has funded entrepreneurs through the Government enterprise empowerment programme.
Recently, 7870 small businesses accessed Bank of Industry direct funding. To show leadership, Abia State Government through the Social Investment office has negotiated an initial 30,000 slots to a tone of #30 billion to develop MSME in the State. Rural women and youths are targeted in this business growth pattern. While such amount will open up more small businesses, it will spread cash liquidity and engage more hands.
To break new grounds, an existing business must aspire to spread tentacles, grab new opportunities that usher in new set of patronage and investments.
Unarguably, different results can only be gotten by doing things differently.
Prior to this period, Aba has produced goods that can compete favourably with every known standard. Failure to properly brand made in Aba goods due to the phobia of low patronage arising from a negative campaign that tend to link Nigeria made goods with inferior raw materials was a major setback.
In Abia, The Governor Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu has succeeded in opening channels of institutional support to give businesses platforms to showcase the great potentials of Aba entrepreneurship. This is one of the key achievements of Governor Ikpeazu in supporting and promoting Aba entrepreneurs.
Simply put, Ikpeazu shifted the paradigm for a structure that can sustain the drive and open markets for more products with both national and international outlook.
Government cannot renege from its role of creating stable enabling environment for investments to thrive.
Dr.Ikpeazu took extra effort to making sure he build on the creativity, ingenuity and the knowledge of an Aba entrepreneur to excel in business of garment and leather making by exposing them to international best practices.
One of the key underlying and overarching goals of the Okezie Ikpeazu campaign, is to open up international markets for made in Aba products. Such cannot be achieved without the partnership, collaboration and support of the commercial sections of the embassies of the foreign missions in Nigeria, strategic audience, major business Stakeholders and government agencies. This could account why Abia Government collaborated with the private sector to host exhibitions in Abuja, Lagos and New York.
It is therefore pertinent to note that the State Government through patronage, promotion and support for local contents, has brought back the consciousness of what can be achieved in the country through resilience and hard work.
For the first time, Nigeria budget specifically captured Aba as part of Federal Government's plan to create more employment opportunities for youths through funding and support for entrepreneurship.
Results are visible and that counts for efforts put in by the Governor to promoting made in Aba which has been brought to limelight and automatically given Aba products national outlook.
To replicate the drive in the State, Dr.Ikpeazu is opening channels of distribution through construction of key roads for easy access to these hubs.
The State is constructing and reconstructing roads that have direct links or centers around manufacturing clusters. This will eventually see to the rise of many small and medium businesses.
Presently, the State Government has delivered 25 roads in the commercial city of Aba and is active on over 39 roads within this markets and fabrication centres.
Reconstruction of Faulks road that leads to Ariaria international market and Port Harcourt road ,which is regarded as fabrication centre in Abia State are parts of the efforts of the Government to jump start the local economy by opening roads to market millions of Leather and Garment products exported to different States and other west African countries.
Nigeria can no longer ignore what is happening in Abia State. The efforts so far Stated are major reasons the Internally Generated Revenue of the State has been reviewed upwards from what it was before the campaign for patronage of locally made goods began. The resultant effect is that, Abia has the capacity to drive Gross Domestic Products ,which can guarantee high level of liquidity in the Country's cash flow.
Abia State is benefiting greatly from the collaboration of the federal Government. Governor Ikpeazu believes that there is a great different in timing between politics and governance. His handshake with the federal government has already manifested in gains for Abians. Very soon Ariaria International Market, the hub of trade and commerce in Aba will enjoy uninterrupted power supply through an collaboration between Rural Electrification Agency following a directive from the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo. The over 250,000 business men and women, leather product and other fabricators in Ariaria and environs will have the opportunity to extend their activity time, make more money and make use of high capacity machineries for more efficient finishing. The overarching goal is to strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs to compete favorably with the best in the globe.
The first batch of the N-power programme in Abia State has seen 3,263 persons gainfully attached to labour through engagements in Health centers, Agricultural extension and teaching capacity of the State. As part of the benefits of the programme outside the monthly #30,000 stipend, the N-power beneficiaries were recently handed internet enabled tablets that are furnished with basic training procedures which will equip the youths with skills that will make them self reliant at the point of departure.
Second batch of the programme has 75,000 registered Abians of which over 50% will be recruited since Abia is a priority State due to the Governor's commitment to every federal Government programme that is due every State. Abia is currently serving as the region's headquarter of N- build with warehouse at Umuahia to service the entry N-build. Five centers in Abia State have been selected to provide skill training in mostly building services such as plumbing, electrical etc. By the second week of November over 3000 Abia youths selected for N Build scheme will be mobilized for training at the accredited centers. During the course of their training they will receive stipends and after the training they will be equipped with tools and funding to startup their building services enterprises. Its worthy of note that Abia today has become a priority state in the Federal/State Government Social Investment and Intervention Programmes due to the leadership Governor Ikpeazu has shown in implementing these impactful programmes.
No wonder according to Chinenye Nwaogu the State Focal Person for Social Investments "Social Investment is more of an attitude than a party or government policy.
Abia State Government through the office of the wife of the Governor and philanthropists in Abia State, is contributing more than 70% of the cost of the free feeding project, in addition to providing free Made in Aba school sandals for thousands of Abia School Children. With support of Abians in diaspora over 3000 free school sandals have been distributed to indigent pupils in public primary schools under the Friends of Ikpeazu in Diaspora (FOID) initiative.
The involvement of the federal government is a welcomed development. This programme has seen to employment of 1,167 cooks who are presently cooking for the entire 147,000 pupils in all the 859 schools covered so far.
While the federal Government is undertaking the feeding of pupils from primary 1-3, Abia Government is feeding the remaining pupils from 4-6 with one meal per day. The benefit of this important programme is far reaching. Apart from the employment provided for 1167 cooks, women in the rural areas have heave a sign of relieve. Worthy of note is that all ingredients they are using for school feeding programme is locally sourced.
Abia State has experienced increased school enrolment. There is also high patronage of farm produce, enhanced teaching and learning activities and the burden of feeding the students with a healthy and balanced meal lifted from parents. These are parts of the benefits of good leadership.
There is an improved activities in the Abia Market environment. With demand orders trooping in from major Government agencies, Youths are more engaged in skillful ventures. In 2016 those in the leather value chain had increased sales to the tune of over N1Billion. The military which hitherto were not proud to agree that they had anything to do with Aba were proud to announce an order of over 50,000 military boots from Aba shoe makers. One of the shoe producers in Aba had order of over 10,000 school sandals for children in IDP camps. The confidence of the Abaprenuers has grown, now each producer proudly placed their labels on their products with the proudly made in Aba insignia obviously indicated.
This can confirm what the leader of a powerful delegation of the Nigerian Defence College Brig. Gen Emeka Onumajuru said when he led a research tour to the God's own State.
The Army General volunteered kind words in our regards when he said that Abia State has a strong Policy framework for Youth development.
Gen.Onumajuru was only echoing what the Vice President and other Stakeholders in the Country have said about Governor Ikpeazu of Abia and the progress he has made so far within his first two years of superintending over the affairs of the State.
There is therefore no doubt that policies and programmes of the Ikpeazu led Government will further unlock the potentials of God's Own State and empower her people economically. A feat that has engraved Governor Ikpeazu's name on the tombstone of time.
Ikechukwu Iroha writes from Ohafia.
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