In Bid to Stimulate Investment Drive in Abia, Zenith Bank, Others Extol State’s Potential 

Ndubuisi  Francis in Abuja

Various stakeholders, including Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Zenith Bank Plc, at the weekend urged local and foreign investors to tap into Abia State’s vast investment potential, assuring that the environment has remained increasingly enabling enough to safeguard and guarantee investments.

Speaking at a luncheon held in Abuja ahead of  the Abia-Turkey Investment Summit and Product Exhibition slated for Umuahia, the Abia State capital, between November 25 and 27, 2025, the stakeholders, including state officials, prospective investors, lawmakers, and financial institutions, among others, were unanimous that Abia State is conducive for investment.

The General Manager, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Carl Akawarandu who was in attendance, expressed the readiness of his bank to partner with every investor desirous of investing in Abia State, not only in terms of financing, but in providing financial advisory services.

Akwarandu noted that the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti epitomised impeccable integrity and credibility needed to make investors feel at home.

He alluded  to the state’s unrelenting propensity to improve ease of doing business, expressing Zenith Bank’s strong commitment to supporting investors coming to the state.

He noted that as an Abia son, he would encourage investors in his personal and official capacities to look towards the state as the investment destination of choice.

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Abia State on Investment Promotion and Public – Private Partnership, (PPP.), Chief Jerome Green-Amakwe, who is also the Chairman, Steering Committee for the summit, said Abia offers rare features needed for investment to thrive, adding that among others, security is top notch as investors have no reason to worry about.

” I can tell you that in the whole of South East,  let me not say the entire Nigeria, there is no place as safe as Abia State,. You hardly hear any kind of bad news. In Abia State, we are secure. We are working with the Nigerian military, the police and all the security agencies, so Abia is very safe.

“As we speak,  we have over 21 Turkish investors that have already registered to be part of the summit individually and as corporate entities, Nigerian investors are coming too, but the focus is on the foreign investors,” he said.

A former Senator representing Abia Central, Darlington Nwokeocha, thanked investors for reposing faith in the government of Abia State, noting that it has not always been like that.

Nwokeocha alluded to the presence of indices that promote investment, including stable power supply in Aba, the prompt approval of Certificate of Occupany ((CofO)

and the security of lives and property, among others 

He noted that in some states of the federation and Abuja, for instance,  banks no longer collect land documents as collateral because they are not sure if the government would not wake up the next morning and revoke the ownership.

.”The C of O that prior to now you will be lucky to get in 10 years, today you can get it within three weeks if your documents are complete, and with the C of O, you can confidently carry out your business without fear that someone will collect your property,” he said.

He urged investors to take advantage of the numerous opportunities in Abia State and build their businesses.

According to him,  some other special enablers to investment is that Abia is bordered by about seven other hugely endowed states, including Rivers, Cross Rivers, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Anambra.