VANGUARD
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State said his administration had, in 15 months, paid N90 billion out of the N191.2 billion debt inherited from the previous administrations.
Also, he disclosed that Abia had recorded $159 million foreign direct investment between June 2023 and June 2024 under his watch.
Governor Otti said these during a media parley Thursday night in Umuahia.
He also declared that his administration had not borrowed money from any institution so far.
Otti explained that he had been judiciously deploying the resources of the state for infrastructural development, payment of salaries and pensions as well as other financial obligations of Government.
‘I inherited N191bn debt’
Otti said: “I inherited N191.3 billion from my predecessor in May 2023. My predecessor inherited about N35 billion from his predecessor in 2015.
“But today, my administration has paid over N90 billion of the debt we inherited.
“We still pay salaries and pensions every month. And I have not borrowed a Kobo from anybody.
“The achievements you see today are a product of prudent management of scare resources.”
On the foreign direct investment, Governor Otti said that Abia had moved from the 27th position to the 3rd position in the states with highest foreign direct investment.
He explained that the efforts of his administration to put in place the necessary infrastructure and other investment-friendly factors, had made Abia a destination for investors.
According to Otti, “We saw the need to lay the foundations upon which investment drives would stand. And that is why a lot of investors are now coming into the state.”
The governor argued that it does not make sense chasing investors around, submitting that they would naturally come when the needed environment is provided.
“Investors don’t listen to platitudes, they look at actions. Without any campaign, we have had investors coming to set up their investments in Abia.
“Apostle Chibuzor of OPM, the other day, brought a team of investors – one from Italy, another from Turkey and one from the US.
“That’s why we are making sure we make Abia investor-friendly.
“Akaikenga Think Tank also came, and we are discussing on how they would set tech hub in Abia. We want our people to come back and invest at home,” Otti noted.
Agric investments, road construction
Governor Otti also said his administration was making spirited efforts towards achieving food security. He equally disclosed that he had approved funds to 300 Abians who were recently sponsored by the state government to under-study modern farming in Nasarawa State.
