Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has said that the Federal Government cannot ignore the potentials of the Aba entrepreneurs due to their contributions to Nigeria’s diversification drive from oil to manufacturing.
The governor was speaking at the 2017 Nigeria Entrepreneurs Award in Abuja where Abia State bagged the Investor Friendly State of the Year.
He said there were about 250,000 entrepreneurs in the state producing various kinds of products for Nigeria and Africa.
Ikpeazu noted that the state government was working towards automating the process of shoe making, creation of industrial clusters, adding that it was ready for global completion.
The governor assured that the handwork of artisans in Aba would no longer go unnoticed as the “Made-in-Aba” label has been returned on shoes and other products manufactured in the city.
He said through various interventions, the state government had boosted the self-esteem of the local manufacturers and had stopped the reckless act of labelling locally manufactured products with foreign brand name.
