Abia is a gold mine for investors, Otti says

By Ugochukwu Alaribe UMUAHIA – Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has urged investors, particularly Abia indigenes living outside the state, to establish industries and businesses in the state, describing it as a gold mine of investment opportunities. Otti made the call while commissioning OXVERA Hotel, a privately owned hospitality facility in Umuahia, saying his administration had made considerable progress in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and was now focusing on industrial development and job creation.

He said local investors must be encouraged to invest in the state before the government could effectively attract foreign investors. “Sometimes we pay so much attention to foreign investment, and there is nothing wrong with foreign investment. But if you have not created the enabling environment for local investors to invest, you may be deceiving yourself when you go out looking for foreign investment,” the governor said.

He specifically appealed to Abia indigenes from the three senatorial districts to invest in the state, noting that establishing industries would create employment opportunities for young people graduating from schools in increasing numbers. “I call on our brothers from Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South to look home, because it is only in investing and setting up industries that we will be able to create jobs for our young ones, and a lot of them are coming out from school in their numbers,” he said.

Otti identified solid minerals, agriculture, trade and commerce, information technology, and oil and gas, particularly in the northern parts of the state, as sectors with significant investment potential. He said the government’s investments in infrastructure, security and the general business environment were aimed at making Abia attractive to local and international investors.

The governor also recounted how an earlier plan to establish a 150-room five-star hotel in the state in partnership with international hospitality brand Marriott failed shortly before the agreement was due to be signed. He, however, disclosed that the state was expecting other international hospitality brands, including Radisson Blu in Aba and Hilton in Umuahia, adding that competition among hotel operators would promote improved service delivery.

In an interview with journalists, the Chief Executive Officer of OXVERA Hotel Limited, Chief Ozioma Nnanna, disclosed that the facility had 58 rooms across different categories. Nnanna urged Abia indigenes living outside the state and other prospective investors to return home and take advantage of the emerging investment opportunities. He attributed his decision to establish the hotel to what he described as the improving business environment under Otti’s administration, saying the government’s achievements had encouraged him to invest in his home state.