Quentessential Otti: How Abia Governor is Sharing Prosperity
Ebere Uzoukwa, Ph.D
History was on Thursday July 11, 2024, made in Abia when Governor Alex Chioma Otti OFR, officially launched the Abia State Cooperative Support Scheme and Disbursement of Credit Facilities to 10,000 nano and micro businesses drawn from the 184 wards of the state.
The landmark event, which held at the International Conference Center, Umuahia on Thursday, marked the fulfilment of Gov. Otti’s campaign promise to reduce poverty to the barest minimum by opening vast business opportunities that would deliver economic prosperity and build other levels of success through government support to micro and small-scale enterprises.
The interest-free loan captured 50 beneficiaries from each of the 184 wards, each receiving N100,000 support to grow their businesses, earn money to grow their families and contribute more to the economic growth and advancement of their communities and the entire state.
In a speech at the event, the governor said: “The Abia State Cooperative Support Scheme has been set up to simultaneously address the financial difficulties owners of small-scale businesses in the rural and urban communities face and also send a clear message to everyone that the only way to draw the attention and support of the government is by engaging in productive ventures.
“Thousands of the beneficiaries selected for this batch are petty traders, farmers and artisans, who have over the years toiled on their own without the kind of structured support that their peers from other parts of the world take for granted.
“The Abia State Government has now taken the bull by the horn and feels that what is good for small-scale entrepreneurs in South Asia is also good for our people”.
Gov. Otti also never minced words as he showed optimism and predicted a prosperous Abia through the sustainability of the scheme, which is a segment of the holistic empowerement plan intentionally articulated in his blueprint for human capital and business development.
“This scheme aligns perfectly with our strategic development agenda, which is geared at improving the welfare of the general populace.
“Specifically, the projection is that the injection of about a.billion naira into the economy of the various communities in the state through the interest-free revolving loan scheme will ultimately lead to a jump in the volume of agricultural outputs brought to the markets in the short and medium term, new orders for business inputs, and a measurable rise in the value of the gross domestic product of the local communities,” the governor said.
He was equally blunt while admonishing the beneficiaries.
According to him, their ability to repay the loan would create opportunities for others to benefit.
“I believe that you shall not block the path for others by refusing to repay what shall be lent to you.
“Do not forget that even within your cooperatives, there are hundreds of others waiting in the line to benefit,” the governor also said.
As stated in his address, the State Government, under his revolutionary leadership, had in the last 13 months embarked on remarkable projects that are enabling trade and commerce, such as the construction and reconstruction of long abandoned roads in Aba and other parts of the state.
As of today, economic activities have since resumed along the Port Hacourt Road, Osisioma-Ekeakpara axis and other areas in the Enyimba city.
This is even as the governor has begun the reconstruction of other key and strategic roads to boost agriculture and open new frontiers of rewarding opportunities for millions of people, especially in the agricultural sector.
Recall that 300 Abians, just last week, returned to the state from CSS Global Farm in Nasarawa State, after a two-week intensive training on modern agriculture and agricultural value chain.
The governor had also vowed to empower them to fully demonstrate the knowledge they acquired towards achieving food security and sufficiency in the state.
While commending Gov. Otti for achieving this great feat, which is expected to impact positively on the lives of the beneficiaries, it is neccessary to commend the team that packaged and fine-tuned the programme. Notable among them are the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ngozi Blessing Felix, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Cooperative Societies, Hon. Ishmael Onuoha and a few others that may have served in the committee that planned and also implementing the programme.
This is a surest and practical way of sharing prosperity and also creating wealth in Abia, God’s Own State.
Abia is indeed getting better under Gov. Alex Chioma Otti OFR.
Dr. Ebere Uzoukwa
SSA (Public Affairs)
to the Governor
12th July, 2024.