The Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti says his government is committed to partnering international organizations, including the Kingdom of the Netherlands in providing alternative and steady electricity for the full industrialization of Abia state.
Governor Otti disclosed this while receiving in audience a delegation led by the Deputy Consul General Kingdom of the Netherlands and management team of Kaltani Company who were in the state on investment visit.
In his words “We thought that a better thing to do will be to convert the waste into products that people will buy.
“What will this products be, there are a lot of them and people talk about waste to wealth energy and that is in very serious demand here and that’s where he ) Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities) comes in because it is part of our strategy.
“We need to solve the energy problem in Abia. I’ll say that we are almost there and it’s the same Aba that we talked about that has power from an independent integrated power company that runs on a 24 hour basis”.
Continuing, the Governor described Abians as born entrepreneurs and resilient and added that with steady power and conducive business environment they can produce for domestic and export purposes .
“The demand for energy is inelastic and you know how it is for people who are entrepreneurs, people who have capacity to produce anything, so these people require support from government.
” For us we believe that if we are able to have enough power for our people, we would have solved half of the problem,” Gov. Otti stated.
The Governor used the opportunity to reassure that having signed into law the Abia state electricity bill, his government will before the end of the week set up the Abia state electricity Regulatory Agency.
The Abia Chief Executive expressed displeasure over the distortions on the Aba masterplan, assuring that his government is gradually restoring Aba and Umuahia to their masterplans through the UN Habitat.
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Power and public Utilities Mr Ikechukwu Monday explained that having tackled the poor sanitary condition of the state frontally, Governor Otti now channels his attention to moving waste to wealth which would help ensure environmental sustainability and job creation.
Mr Monday assured the delegation of the rich potentials that Abia boasts of and encouraged them to consider investing in the area of converting waste to energy, disclosing that Abia is one of the 5-states selected for circular economy being financed by the European Union.
Also speaking, the Deputy Consul General, Kingdom of the Netherlands Mr Peter Keulers disclosed that his delegation is on a scoping mission to meet with government, private sector and academic/research organizations to discuss possible areas of deployment of Dutch Technology and knowledge to meet both commercial and policy objectives in the areas of waste management, circular aspect of Agriculture among others.
While emphasising that circular economy is so dear to the Kingdom of Netherlands, added that will lead to a more sustainable and resilient economy with less pollution and waste and even lead to a more efficient use of scarce resources as well as engender quality of life.
The Consul General added that Circular economy has the potentials of creating all kinds of economic opportunities and job opportunities in the future, pointing out that they are focused on promoting bilateral relations having visited the proposed site for Kaltani waste management facility in the state.
In his contribution, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kaltani Company and key development partner of the waste to wealth project, Mr Charles Nnanna said they are a ready partner in the project of waste collection and recycling and expressed joy and willingness to collaborate with Abia state government in realizing its vision of creating wealth from waste.
He described Governor Alex Otti as a man of vision who is desirous of creating a lasting impact in the lives of Abians, adding that his company plans to galvanize waste, create jobs and address multiple layers of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
“His Excellency Governor Alex Otti is a man of vision, a man that wants to create a lasting impact in the lives of Abians and we are happy to be part of that story, we are happy to support His Excellency’s government.
“We intend to galvanize waste, we intend to create job, we intend to address multiple United Nations SDGs,” Nnanna stated.
Ferdinand Ekeoma
Specia Adviser to the Governor
( Media and Publicity)
March 20, 2025.
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