FG Explores Support for Aba Businesses, Agriculture in Abia
Help may be coming for businesses struggling with infrastructure and access to finance in Aba, as the Federal Government explores new areas of collaboration with the Abia State Government to strengthen the state’s industrial and agricultural sectors.
The Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajimogu, disclosed this on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, during a visit to Governor Alex Otti at the Government House, Umuahia.
Uwajimogu said the Federal Government was particularly interested in Aba’s textile and garment industry, where many businesses continue to operate despite challenges linked to infrastructure and financing.
“One of the biggest things that we see coming out of Abia State is the strong industrial capacity in Aba, particularly in the textile and garments sector,” he said.
He explained that the Federal Government was looking at practical ways to help businesses overcome some of the major constraints limiting their growth.
“We have been thinking of how, from the federal level, we can support the businesses that are working in that sector and have come up with ideas on how we can address some of the biggest binding constraints that they often face, one being infrastructure and the other one being finance,” Uwajimogu said.
For Aba’s entrepreneurs, such support could have implications beyond individual businesses, particularly in employment, production and the ability of local manufacturers to compete in wider markets.
Uwajimogu said the delegation was also in Abia to identify areas where federal projects and programmes could be introduced through stronger collaboration with the state government.
Also on the delegation was the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA, Engr. Cornelius Adebayo, who said agriculture could provide another major pathway for reducing poverty and creating sustainable livelihoods in Abia.
Adebayo said NALDA was seeking the state’s support, particularly in providing land for its Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate programme.
The programme is designed to bring farmers together in organised farm estates while providing infrastructure, security, agricultural inputs, access to markets and other support needed to improve productivity and farmers’ incomes.
Adebayo expressed hope that Abia would host a major NALDA agricultural project, including a processing facility, and appealed to the state government to provide suitable land for the initiative.
Responding, Governor Alex Otti expressed his administration’s readiness to work with NALDA and other stakeholders to unlock Abia’s agricultural potential.
Otti described the proposed farm settlement initiative as a practical way to increase food production, create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on imported food.
Although Abia is relatively small in landmass, the Governor said the state has fertile and arable areas capable of producing crops including cassava, yam, cocoyam, oil palm and cashew.
He recalled the farm settlements established in parts of the country during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the former Star Paper Mill, as examples of productive ventures that demonstrated the potential for locally driven industrial and agricultural development.
Otti also linked increased food production to economic stability, noting that heavy dependence on food imports places additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market.
He therefore called for deliberate investment in local agriculture and processing to strengthen food production and create economic opportunities for residents.
Following the meeting, the Governor directed the Commissioners for Agriculture and Lands to identify suitable locations for the proposed agricultural project, including existing farm settlements and other available sites.
He also directed the officials to explore ways of strengthening the operations of the NALDA office in Osisioma.
For Abia, the proposed collaboration brings together two areas with direct implications for ordinary residents — the small and medium-sized businesses that drive Aba’s commercial economy and agriculture, which provides a potential source of jobs, food and income for rural communities.
Members of the Abia State Executive Council attended the meeting.
