Why Otti’s Among Best Governors In Nigeria, By Onyeizu

Engr Chinedu Onyeizu is a renowned Petroleum Engineer and CEO/Co Founder of Abia Industrial Innovation Park (AIIP). In this interview with EMMANUEL IFEANYI, he speaks on Abia State is now investors’ choice, among other issues

The Abia Industrial Innovation Park (AIIP) has become a project that everyone is talking about; what is AIIP all about? It is all about a whole lot of things. Some simply say that it is an Industrial Park, but I want to say that what we’re building is more than just an industrial park; it is a thriving hub of innovation collaboration and growth. Well, for necessary information for people out there, AIIP is located in Owaza, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. The AIIP stands tall as a beacon of industrialization in the heart of West Africa. The vision of AIIP is to create a transformative ecosystem that will catalyze economic development and empower diverse industries to flourish. It will pave the way for a new era of economic growth and sustainable development. For further information, I want to make it very clear too that the AIIP is set to make history as the first innovation cluster in West Africa, solely dedicated to scaling industrial production and manufacturing of goods and services. The commitment of this project to innovation is unshakeable. AIIP is proud to be a pioneering force in the realm of industrial development. It is dedicated to fostering an environment that nurtures creativity and ingenuity, driving breakthroughs in manufacturing, logistics, energy, and real estate. AIIP’s cutting-edge clusters and expected state-of-heart infrastructures are designed to facilitate seamless collaboration and accelerate the growth of businesses across various sectors. As I said, it is more than just an industrial park as it empowers economic diversity. AIIP believes in the power of diversity. Its multi-faceted approach encompasses a wide range of economic activities, ensuring that every sector has the resources and support it needs to thrive. From oil and gas to real estate, from energy to industrials, it lays the foundation for sustainable growth and prosperity. Leading the Green Energy Transition as stewards of the environment, AIIP is committed to playing a vital role in Nigeria’s green energy transition. It’s actively engaged in the low-carbon revolution, seamlessly integrating sustainable practices into its operations without compromising returns. By embracing cleaner energy solutions, AIIP is not only shaping a greener future but also paving the way for a more resilient and prosperous nation. Another important thing you should know about AIIP is that it stands as a strategic partnership between visionaries and innovators. With unwavering support from the Abia State government, it’s equipped to realize its shared dream of propelling Nigeria’s industrial landscape to new heights. Together, AIIP will reshape the future of innovation and solidify its position as a pivotal contributor to the South Eastern Nigeria Region’s economic growth.

This narrative is not new to us, we’ve heard about Obeaku City in 1992, we’ve heard about the Enyimba Economic City 2019, and today it is AIIP. Some people could see this as another move that may fail; what’s the assurance here? I’m involved and I don’t get involved in projects that don’t work. If it’ll not work, I’ll resign and make it public. This question has been coming and what I’d like our people to know is that the Enyimba Economic City is what I view as a complementary effort and not a competition with the AIIP. I encourage the promoters of the Enyimba Economic City to continue with what they’re doing because it’s been on paper for several years. We want to see actions. AIIP’s groundbreaking was done on the September 30, 2023. It’s less than a year, but I already have over 12 expressions of interest from multinationals that want to come in. However, a lot of processes need to be completed before they come in. One of such is the compensation of the local community. We wouldn’t want to go in there without adequately compensating the local community. The second thing is the feasibility studies. We’re talking about a multinational major capital project. The feasibility studies started last year. In the next couple of weeks, we should have all the necessary reports. The preliminary report shows strong indicators that all is good. We’ve recorded a lot of concerns from foreign investors as well. They’re concerned over factors that are beyond our control as a state for example exchange rate. The dollar/naira exchange rate is one of the major things foreign investors look at. I told someone recently at a function in Abuja that I prefer a naira that exchanges at two thousand per dollar as long as it is

It is a known fact that Otti is the best governor in Nigeria today, considering all those that he came into power with in 2023. His main area of interest is infrastructure and we can all see what Aba and Umuahia are turning into

stable. Yes, someone may say it’s high, I quite agree, but the stability will give people the opportunity to plan rather than the current fluctuating method that kills planning. The inability of investors to plan is causing them concern. You can’t have a dollar exchanged for N1,500 in the night and before you wake up its now N1,300, that’s unstable and it kills plans. If you’ve worked in multinationals, you’ll understand that they don’t joke with exchange rate stability because it helps them to know what to gain and lose. So, this issue has been a major challenge for AIIP because it was made to house a lot of companies.

How open will the AIIP be on the issues of compensation to avoid regrettable past cases, where people lost their lives, while trying to negotiate compensation? I thank Governor Alex Otti for introducing a very decent method for AIIP. Our method is a complete departure from what the other projects tried to do. AIIP is set in a way that the host community has a stake and a sit on the board. So, there’s a percentage of AIIP that goes to the host communities. Abia State government as well as the private sector has a stake as well. Apart from the host communities having a stake, we will also give them the right of first refusal. It means that if there’s any recruitment going on in AIIP, and Ukwa West man will be given a five per cent refusal. It means that if they don’t have any individual who can fill that role, that’s when it will be made open to outsiders. We’re also exploring power although we’re in a region where Geometric is in charge. We also have a 500 megawatts IPP project in AIIP. Two multinational companies have reached out to us and we are working with them in the area of power generation. We’ll execute the power generation project as we’re looking at getting gas from Total Energy and we’ll have a session with Geometric for the permit, you know there should be a handshake. If we have 24/7 power we can consider corporate social responsibility to provide power for the community.

When you were speaking about AIIP, all focus was on foreign investors. Is there no space for local investors? There are. You see; strategy changes as factors beyond your control change. Our initial strategy was to be more focused on foreign investors. But when things started changing negatively in Nigeria’s economy, we had to readjust our strategy to look inwards. I think that there is about $38 billion within the economy that can be mobilized. I consider them as idle funds. One of the ways to bring them here is for our governor to continue with what he’s doing, so that the new Abia with a new story will continue to resonate in the minds of investors. The second thing we’re working on is the Free Trade Zone status, so that the Aba man can build a factory in AIIP and export without being taxed. If it assumes a free trade zone status, you don’t need to pay tax when you export. One other thing we’re doing is that we have a special zone for local manufacturers because we were able to put Aba shoe manufacturers into consideration. We have a massive area within AIIP which we call a small-scale industrial zone. It’ll provide what we call lots that allow you to produce and warehouse what you produced to the tune of five containers so that, when you produce, you can evacuate from there to any part of the world since we’re giving you power, infrastructure and all necessary logistics to help you. Those are incentives that we lined up to encourage local investors to come in.

Let’s talk about the Abia govt, in all sincerity, how would you rate the Otti-led administration so far? Well, I guess everyone may have their opinion, but it is a known fact that Otti is the best governor in Nigeria today, considering all those that he came into power with in 2023. His main area of interest is infrastructure and we can all see what Aba and Umuahia are turning into. Another area of interest is power. These are two critical areas as far as growth and development are concerned in this part of the world. Without power, how can industries survive? How can the economy built on production stand without power and necessary infrastructure? Companies cannot sustain their operation. He challenged geometric to go further to what you’re seeing now. Some substations as I gathered are coming up in Aba soon. So, if Governor Otti can achieve only power and infrastructure, I’ll gladly rejoice because only those two sectors can change this state. They can create employment and spread wealth. For me, the governor has done fantastically well. That’s the beauty of having an exposed leader lead a people. He’s wellexposed and globally recognized. He has his credibility and integrity to protect and wouldn’t want to mess up. So, he’s doing well. I’m sure he has the idea to develop Aba better which is why he established the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) so, I expect Aba to be a better city henceforth under his watch.

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