GREAT IMO JONATHAN
Dr. Uche Ogah has done on the hand assessment of Abia state and so he is sincerely aware of the challenges the state is facing and has revealed a master plan towards actualising them.
Based on his diligent nature, he did set up a think tank team comprising Abia professionals from home and abroad. For a period of over one year, the team did various researches and held several meetings to come up with an industrial master plan towards the rapid development of Abia state. Dr. Uche Ogah’s document spells out what and what needs to be done in every sector and geography of the state in order to realize its potentials.
Dr. Uche Ogah has detialed his strategy for ‘’Industrializing” an emerging economy like Abia state. In reiterating the blue print for the state, he highlighted the areas the state has potential to attract investment, including:
(i) Agro-Allied Industries:
Cassava starch and flour
Fruits and vegetables canning
(ii) Textiles:
Cotton socks
Fishing nets
Mosquito nets
(iii) Industrial Minerals/Quarrying:
Glass industry
Table ware
Aggregate plant (stone crushing plant)
(iv) Plastic Industry:
Plastic manufacture
Bottles, flask, cans, tubes, tiles
(v) Chemical Industry:
Polyethylene
Explosives
Self-Adhesive Tape
Pulp and paper
(vi) Oil and Gas
To quicken the pace of industrial development, Dr. Uche Ogah has a plan to embark on direct industrial establishments and to enter into joint ventures with entrepreneurs in the private sector. Thus, categories of industries in his plan are: public, partnership and private sector driven.
Dr. Uche Ogah in his plan recognizes Aba, the famed commercial capital of south eastern Nigeria, as possessing the expertise and savvy to reproduce any technological product manufactured anywhere in the world. He made it known that skilled and unskilled manpower abound in Abia State, while raw materials for vast array of products are readily available.
Dr. Uche Ogah’s vision for the state is to reclaim Aba’s dominance in clothing, shoes, bags, and raw materials market for West Africa, Central Africa sub regions and other foreign markets.
His vision also includes 12 brand new world class industrial parks as follows:
1. Abala Technology Incubation Center (22.42acres)
2. Enyimba 1 Industrial Fashion Heartland, Osisioma (78 acres)
3. Enyimba 2 Inter-model Business Park, Obingwa (90 acres)
4. Export Processing Zone, Azumini (22.42 acres)
5. Alayi Axial Industrial hub (22.42 acres)
6. Eco Industrial Park/Organic Fertilizer, Umuahia (90 acres)
7. Arochukwu Industrial hub (78 acres)
8. Umunnochi Industrial heartland (90 acres)
9. Isikwuato Axial Industrial Hub (22.42 acres)
10. Ikwuano industrial Hub 90 acres)
11. Isiala Ngwa- Industrial Hub (22.42 acres)
12. Ohafia-Nkporo-Abiriba Industrial Hub (90 acres)
Above these, Dr. Uche Ogah has plans for three Eco-Industrial Parks. This is a sector of industrial ecology, which draws analogies from natural ecosystems to human industrial systems. These eco-industrial parks will bring environmental, social and economic benefits: environmental consciousness, development, jobs, foreign Direct Investments, etc.