Gov Alex Otti of Abia has signed into law the Greater Aba Development Authority and Other Related Matters bill.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on Monday in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, Otti described the new law as being in tandem with the rebuilding agenda of his administration. He said that the new law would be aimed at facilitating socioeconomic development in Aba and the state at large.
“Everyone, who had followed the process of the campaign and election would remember that we had said that we need a special focus on Aba, which is the commercial nerve center of the state.
“Aba combines what many cities have individually, it is not just a commercial zone, it is an industrial hub.
“When you see us investing heavily on infrastructure renewal in Aba, it is because we recognise the potentials that Aba has,” he added.
According to him, the government was poised to transform Aba through combining the industrial hub and the technological hub that it would build. The governor restated the government’s commitment to improve the state’s rating on ease of doing business, adding that this would attract more investors to the state.
Otti commended the House of Assembly for being resourceful and industrious in its legislative assignment and lauded them “for a job well done” in passing the bill. He also commended members of the State Executive Council for their efforts in ensuring that the objective of getting the new law was realised.
Otti charged the leadership of the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) to hit the ground running, adding that the new law had given the agency the legal backing to deliver on its mandate, effectively.
Earlier, the Attorney General of the state, Mr Ikechukwu Uwanna, said that the new law was the first law which Otti had signed since assumption of office as governor of Abia. Uwanna said that the new law was made for the establishment of GADA in fulfillment of the governor’s campaign promise to drive development in Aba.
In an interview with newsmen, the Director General of GADA, Mr Uche Ukeje, said that the agency would serve as a strategic vehicle that would be used in realising the goal of transforming Aba into an investors’ haven.
“During the campaigns, the governor maintained that he would set up a special vehicle to drive the development of Aba in an integrated manner.
“GADA is supposed to be that vehicle and it will help his excellency realise it,” Ukeje said.