Resident UNDP representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah has said Abia State can lead Africa’s industrial renaissance, saluting the visionary leadership of the state.
Attafuah made the assertion at the official unveiling and commissioning of Aba Export Growth Lab at Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, the South East business hub.
The representative further noted “the South East zone of the country can rise as a regional corridor of productivity, investments, and jobs through the project”.
While assuring the commitment of the UNDP to the project, she lauded the state governor, Alex Otti, for other laudable projects and programmes he had embarked on.
In an address, the governor explained the essence of the facility was to support entrepreneurs in the state to produce competitive global quality products.
His words: “That’s the way the market is structured. And if you cannot compete globally, don’t even try because you will just waste your time.
“History records that there are a lot of countries, including Japan, who developed after the war through export. We are not saying, don’t import. That’s not a bad thing.
”But, we are saying that the things that we are producing in Aba and Abia, that we can sell them beyond the borders of Aba and Abia” Otti explained.
He, therefore, challenged the managers of the project not to compromise quality but to uphold standards, stressing that they should fail any substandard product.
In a goodwill message, the representative of NEXIM Bank, Nkeiru Ezenwanne said the bank is committed to supporting initiatives that would drive export diversification and economic growth.
She congratulated and assured of the bank’s support for the government’s drive towards growth and creation of sustainable jobs by focusing on the key value chain.
Earlier, the commissioner for Industry and SMEs, Mike Akpara said the lab was established to create a pathway for the entrepreneurs to gain access to the global market
