Thread by @FinPlanKaluAja1

On August 27 1991, Abia State was created
There are many good things to celebrate about Abia State e.g. Abia has stayed constant in WAEC performance…Abia has always been among the top three states with WAEC pass rates…

Enyimba of Aba won Nigeria first and only Champions League Cup…twice.

“Aba-made” goods have not died off, rather they have been resilient and have survived. Aba remains one of the largest SME bases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abia was the first state in Nigeria to have a privately owned, independent gas-fired IPP, the Geometric Power in Aba…Abia also has a vibrant non-oil economy with palm oil, Cassava, and Cocoa.

Abia is blessed to have Aba, which can generate enough IGR irrespective of crude oil prices. Yet how many industrial estates are in Aba?. Aba is basically a residential town overtaken by manufacturers. its unplanned for SME manufacturing.

So what can the government do?

1.Publish a clear apolitical 20-year industrial road map. The private sector base in Abia already exists, thus the government of Abia must see itself as a business enabler, a policy giver, the government must not stand in the way of business rather promote local business.

2. Make Abia the best state to do business in Nigeria. In the World Bank Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria 2014 edition, Abia is ranked 16th in starting a business in Nigeria, not good enough. that’s a target for the government.

3. Pass clear business-friendly tax laws, if SMEs invest in infrastructure, they can claim it back in PAYE taxes. If an SME builds a solar farm and generates power to give a tax credit. If a state locates its manufacturing in Abia from another state, reduce their PAYE…compete.

4. Fix up Aba, make it: "Aba .com" from the simple widening of roads, street numbering, open space green areas, and public sanitation to more ambitious goals of providing superfast broadband in Aba.

5. Build a new modern industrial city in Abia. If Cross River, without oil, could build Tinapa, why cant Aba with oil build a modern industrial cluster? with warehouses, offices, roads. can be financed by issuing a diaspora bond. The State should provide, the land & title

6. 1. Partnering with Anambra to build a railway from Onitsha to Aba. Julius Berger has confirmed it can bring in any container from any port in the world to the Warri Port. The Anambra state Shippers Association has adopted Warri Port as its destination port of choice.

6.2 Abia State should build a bonded warehouse in Onitsha. With the Rail link, imports can come from China to Warri then to Aba, similarly, cassava exports can go from Aba to Onitsha to China. The taxes from this port, rail carriage, & increased commerce are bigger than 13% oil.

7. 1. Abia has a diaspora, draw up a remittance policy for Nigerians abroad to send cash to relatives living in Abia. It should be possible for a citizen in Texas to Pay USD to Abia account in Dallas and the Abia government pays Naira cash in Naira.

7.2 The Abia government can build up large USD deposits which it can deploy to Nigerian importers at a profit to the government. This can be used to import inputs on the “CBN Import restriction list”. Abia does not need to borrow, it needs to take advantage of its opportunities.

Abia owns the brand ”Aba made”. There is no “Abuja made” just “Aba made” so work it, set standards, monetize it. Such a slogan should be accompanied by clear policies to attract SMEs to Abia.

In closing, Abia has to ride on its competitive advantage, (commerce and education) and project Abia State as Nigeria’s business and commerce capital.

It is an achievable goal.