Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ben Kalu, accompanied by 30 members of the House of Representatives, Captains of Industries, on Saturday, converged on Owaza in the Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, on Saturday, for the ground breaking ceremony of the Abia Industrial Innovation Park, AIIP.
Speaking during the event, Governor Otti said the AIIP was conceived to serve as a launch pad for economic rejuvenation, leveraging the many advantages of the place it was sited.
Otti, who appreciated the the Host Communities of the project – Owaza, Okohia and Uzuaku – for graciously offering their land for the project, assured that every corporate entity that would be involved took its corporate social responsibility very seriously.
He said:
“Our vision is clear and our goal direct: we want to responsibly harness the abundant oil and gas reserves within Ukwa for the economic development of the communities within, the state and the regions connected to this project location.
“At every stage of this project, even before this ground breaking ceremony, jobs will be created, local businesses would be empowered and multiple channels of economic expansion established for entrepreneurs within and outside this immediate community.”
The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Ben Kalu said he would support Otti from the Federal level to ensure that they build a State that everybody would be proud of under President Bola Tinubu, adding that the Federal Government would never allow the AIIP to be an abandoned project.
Earlier, the State Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Prof. Joel Ogbonna said the project would launch the people of Abia State into a land of their dreams, adding that it was the vision of the State Governor to restore Abia to number one in business and technology.
He noted that for the project to succeed, it must be embraced by all the stakeholders.
In his own speech, the Chief Executive Officer of AIIP, Engr. Chinedu Onyeizu said the Park would accelerate development in Abia State, adding it was a strategic business environment to build significant capacity in many business angles.
The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, in his remarks, noted that the AIIP would enable Abia State occupy its right of place as key manufacturer of leather products, stressing that cost of production would be drastically reduced for companies that will be part of the AIIP with the provision of 24-hour electricity.
While the Chairman of The Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Osagie Okunbor said the project was well sited, as it is close to Aba, houses a major hub of hydrocarbons and hosted by communities which have had a long history of cordial relationship with the Shell Company, the Executive Director, Total Energies, Obi Emeremba, described the AIIP as a melting point for industrialisation. “We see a huge potential in this project, and we believe we will have opportunities to work together”, he added.
Morgan Mmahi, of the Oil and Gas Free Zone, One, in his speech said they would bring incentives to the companies to the companies ready to invest in the AIIP.
The occasion attracted the presence of many government functionaries, members of the Abia State House of Assembly, top Security Officers, traditional rulers, people from the academia, the clergy, and Community Leaders.
