Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti, has disclosed his readiness to partner with multilateral organisations to reconstruct and rehabilitate 248.46 kilometers of roads in the State.
Governor Otti gave the assurance recently when he received a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Finance, led by Dr. Oyebola Akande, an Assistant Director in the ministry, which was on a working visiting to the State to ascertain its readiness to take part in the project.
The project is to be executed under the Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project (ABSIIDP) coordinated by the office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Multilateral and Donor Agencies, Mr. Odinaka Eric Eme.
While welcoming his guests, Governor Otti expressed the eagerness of the Abia State government to take part in the project, describing it as very important considering the number of communities that ASIIDP would touch.
“If it requires leveraging, whatever, we have to raise the fund. We will raise the fund because we believe that it is better to do what we have to do now than wait for tomorrow, because you will still spend the money. If you wait till tomorrow you will spend more.
“For us, it makes more sense even if we have to borrow today to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people and then we will think of repay in due cause,” the Governor said, while citing rising and unstable exchange rate and inflation.
Akande commended Governor Otti for the work he is doing in Abia State within a short period he assumed office.
“When we were coming to the city we saw the works you are doing. I was impressed because if you come into governance and within or less than one year you have moved to site, it shows that you really want to affect the people of Abia,” she said.
Akande told the governor that Abia stands to benefit much more if the State keys into the infrastructural development project.
“I do not have any doubt that this project will add value to your governance because road is essential. Without roads we can’t really do so much. Those roads we believe will add value to the government and to the people of Abia State,” she explained.
According to the SSA on Multi-lateraland Donor Agencies, ABSIIDP is a multi-sector endeavour that aims to contribute to the socio-economic development and poverty alleviation in Abia State through the reconstruction of priority roads in Aba and Umuahia; intervention on gully erosion sites in Umuahia and Obingwa; and solid waste management system intervention in Umuahia and Aba.
Among the top government officials who joined Governor Otti in meeting with the team from the Federal Ministry of Finance was the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Kenneth Kalu.
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