Abia targets seven sectors to boost industrialisation

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti. Photo credit: File

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has identified seven priority sectors the state is targeting to attract investment, deepen industrialisation and drive economic growth.

Otti spoke recently at the Meet the Governor Series of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce in Lagos, themed ‘Repositioning Abia for Enterprise, Industrialisation and Sustainable Economic Growth.’

The sectors, he said, are agribusiness and agro-processing, trade and markets, creative and digital economy, manufacturing and industrialisation, small and medium enterprise growth, inclusive finance and diaspora investment and innovation.

Declaring Abia open for business, Otti said his administration had, in the past 39 months, focused on removing barriers to productivity and encouraging value creation to make the state more attractive to investors.

He said reforms in fiscal governance and infrastructure were aimed at creating a conducive environment for businesses, adding that the state’s 2026 budget of N1.016 trillion allocated 80 per cent to capital expenditure, which he described as the highest per-resident capital spending in the country based on available national expenditure figures.

According to him, the state’s projected internally generated revenue of N223.4bn is expected to cover recurrent expenditure. He added that Abia was ranked fourth in the BudgIT States Fiscal Transparency League in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Otti said a 15 per cent budgetary allocation to healthcare had helped the state top the national chart on health emergency preparedness, while a security assessment by Phillips Consulting also ranked it favourably on the safety of lives and property.

On infrastructure, he said 414 roads had been completed, while 82 others were under construction. More than 10,000 solar-powered streetlights, he added, had been installed across Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia.

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The governor said Abia also had the lowest cost of public transportation per kilometre in the country, attributing this to investments in road networks and green shuttle buses, which he said were reducing business overheads and turnaround time.

He said investment opportunities were available across the plantation, processing, manufacturing and off-take segments, citing livestock ranching, dairy, cashew, cocoa and rubber under agribusiness.

He also identified garment manufacturing, ceramics and leather works as opportunities in the industrial sector, while tourism opportunities included Enyimba Hotels and Ibom Waterfall.

At a fireside chat, Otti identified the proposed Azumini-Obeaku Seaport as a potential trade and logistics gateway, alongside plans for an industrial park and a medical city.

He said businesses that had previously left the state were returning due to lower transport, rental and security costs, as well as rising population and public spending that were driving consumer demand.

The NBCC President, Abimbola Olashore, in his remarks, said Aba’s manufacturing heritage provided a strong foundation for industrial growth but stressed that investors required predictable policies, functional institutions and quality infrastructure before committing capital.

Olashore said the government’s role was to provide an enabling environment, while the private sector should bring capital and expertise.