Steve Oko, Umuahia
Abia Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has secured the approval of the African Development Bank (AfDB), private investors and other multilateral financial institutions for a $430 million investment in the development of Enyimba Economic City (EEC).
The EEC is a proposed free-trade zone located on over 9,500 hectares of land between Aba and Port Harcourt.
The governor, who spoke in Lagos during an interaction with journalists, said he presented the programme to investors at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Governor Ikpeazu said participants at the forum agreed that the ECC was a project worthy of their investment.
The governor said while other African countries had benefitted from the funding opportunity provided by the AIF, Nigeria was yet to benefit.
Governor Ikpeazu said Nigeria presented four projects at the 2019 AIF, among them, the Enyimba Economic City and Lagos Chemical.
AIF is a market place for project developers, investors, borrowers, lenders, policy makers and public- and private-sector investors to encourage investment in Africa.
The governor said the EEC would boost Nigeria’s participation in the Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and lauded the Federal Government for supporting the project which would create about 700,0000 jobs within 10 years.
Meanwhile, Governor Ikpeazu has demanded that the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, join hands with him to move the state forward.
Ikpeazu made the appeal in Umuahia while reacting to the Appeal Court judgment in Owerri reaffirming his victory.
He said the period of political bickering should be over between the two of them.
Otti had challenged the judgment of the election petitions tribunal which dismissed his petition against Ikpeazu’s victory.
The Court of Appeal, which delivered judgment on Saturday, however, upheld the verdict of the tribunal.
Ikpeazu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, urged Otti and other opposition parties to “toe the path of political maturity, respect the popular will of the people, and join hands with him to move the state forward.
“My doors are wide open to all citizens who are willing to pursue the path of genuine cooperation.”
Ikpeazu dedicated his victory to God describing it as “clear reaffirmation of the mandate given to the PDP by the people of Abia State.”
Recalling his tortuous judicial journey in defense of his mandate since 2015, Ikpeazu said if it not been for the grace of God he wouldn’t have remained governor till date.
He thanked the people of Abia for remaining steadfast in their belief in the capacity of his administration to improve their lot.
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