Governor Alex Otti of Abia state has said that his administration is doing all that is necessary to ensure that the State retains its lead as the SME hub of Nigeria.
Otti stated this while addressing a delegation of Bank of Industries, who was on a business visit to him. He said his overall target was to make Abia a leading State with the ease of doing business across the country and added that his vision was to gainfully engage the people and reduce hardship, hunger and insecurity to barest minimum.
The Abia Chief Executive who also described the proposition of the Bank of Industry as being in line with his vision for the State, noted that governance was all about the people, especially easing the burden off their shoulders.
“We strongly believe that governance is about the people and anything you do that does not affect the people in a positive way” for him, is not acceptable.
Otti while describing Ndi Abia as industrious people ,said he was committed to creating a business friendly atmosphere to enable Abia people and residents excel and compete favourably with their counterparts across the globe.
“So for us we have come here to ease the burden of our people particularly the very industrious set of hard working people. We have come to provide an enabling environment for them to do their business”. he said.
He enjoined Bank of Industry to do more to encourage the growth of SMEs in the State while promising to help in fixing their business office in Aba to serve the people better.
The State chief executive noted that in a bid to promote ease of doing business his administration had made it a policy that one must get Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in the State within a 30 days of application.
Usen Effiong, the Executive Director Corporate Services, Bank of industry, earlier in his speech said that the industry since inception has the mandate of providing funds for the establishment and growth of SMEs and other businesses.
He also said that the industry was interested collaborating with government to stimulate and grow the economy of the people by supporting the youths and all kinds of artisans who have huge clusters of businesses in Aba. He disclosed that they have two types of fundings including Manage Fund and Matching Fund which the State could leverage on to boost the SME in the State.
