Abia Is a Gold Mine, Otti Tells Investors, Woos Industrialists Home

Governor Alex Otti cutting tape to declare OXVERA Hotel Open in Umuahia on Sunday

“Governor identifies agriculture, solid minerals, oil and gas, IT as investment opportunities; discloses proposed $200m Presco project”

By Titus Eleweke

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has intensified efforts to attract local and foreign investments into the state, urging industrialists and business owners, particularly Abia indigenes living outside the state, to establish industries at home and take advantage of its emerging economic opportunities.

Otti described Abia as a gold mine of investment opportunities, stressing that the state’s improving business environment, infrastructure development and security architecture have positioned it for increased private-sector investments, industrial expansion and employment generation.

The governor made the call on Sunday, while commissioning OXVERA Hotel, a privately developed hospitality facility in Umuahia, the state capital.

Congratulating the proprietor, Chief Ozioma Nnanna, on the investment, Otti said his administration had made considerable progress in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and was now placing greater emphasis on industrial development, private-sector participation and job creation.

He maintained that although attracting foreign direct investment remained important, the state must first demonstrate its readiness to support indigenous investors through a conducive business environment.

“Sometimes we pay so much attention to foreign investment, and there’s nothing wrong with foreign investment. But if you have not created the enabling environment for local investors to invest, you may be deceiving yourself when you go out looking for foreign investment.

I call on our brothers from Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South to seriously look home, because it’s only in investing and setting up industries that we’ll be able to create jobs for our young ones, and a lot of them are coming out from school in their numbers,” the governor stated.

Otti identified solid minerals, agriculture, trade and commerce, information technology, and oil and gas, particularly in the northern parts of the state, as sectors with enormous investment potential.

He said the state’s natural and economic resources, when properly harnessed through private-sector investments and industrial development, could transform its economy, create employment opportunities for its growing youth population and expand government revenue.

He explained that his administration’s investments in infrastructure, security and the general business environment were deliberate efforts to remove obstacles to private enterprise and position Abia as a competitive investment destination.

Reflecting on his personal experience as a prospective investor several decades ago, Otti recalled how an earlier plan to establish a 150-room five-star hotel in the area, in partnership with international hospitality brand Marriott, collapsed shortly before the agreement was due for signing.

The experience, he suggested, underscored the importance of creating a stable and attractive business environment capable of encouraging investors to commit their resources to the state.

While commending the quality of OXVERA Hotel, the governor disclosed that Abia was expecting the entry of additional international hospitality brands, including Radisson Blu in Aba and Hilton in Umuahia.

He said the arrival of more established hospitality operators would increase competition, improve service standards and provide customers with better hospitality experiences.

Otti’s remarks at the commissioning highlighted the growing importance of private-sector investments in the state’s economic development strategy, with the government seeking to complement public infrastructure projects with investments capable of stimulating commercial activities and creating sustainable jobs.

In their separate goodwill messages, the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Obi Aguocha, and the Labour Party candidate for Abia North Senatorial District, Chief David Ogba Onuoha, commended Otti for what they described as his administration’s efforts to create an enabling business environment that had continued to attract investors to the state since 2023.

They expressed confidence in the governor’s leadership and declared that the achievements of his administration would strengthen the electoral fortunes of Labour Party candidates in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking with journalists after the commissioning, the Chief Executive Officer of OXVERA Hotel Limited, Chief Ozioma Nnanna, attributed the establishment of the facility to the improving business environment in Abia under Otti’s administration.

Nnanna said the developments recorded by the state government inspired him to return home and commit resources to an investment that would contribute to the state’s economic growth.

He explained that his longstanding passion for quality service delivery and the creation of comfortable environments, combined with the positive changes he observed in Abia, motivated his decision to establish the hospitality business in Umuahia.

The hotel chief executive disclosed that OXVERA Hotel has 58 rooms across different categories, adding that the facility was established to provide quality hospitality services while contributing to the growth of the state’s hospitality and tourism industry.

He urged Abia indigenes residing outside the state, as well as other prospective investors, to take advantage of the emerging investment opportunities by bringing their businesses and resources home.

Nnanna assured prospective investors that Abia offered worthwhile opportunities, expressing confidence that investments made in the state would yield positive returns.