We Are Committed To Partnering With Multilateral, Donor Agencies To Move Abia Forward - Gov. Otti

Governor Otti stated this when he received a delegation of the International Organisation For Migration (IOM), an inter-governmental organisation led by the representative of the mission to Nigeria, Mr. Victor Lutenco, who was on a working visit to Abia.

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The International Organisation for Migration is an inter-governmental organisation that works to uphold the rights and well-being of migrants, foster greater understanding of migration issues and support the sustainable development of communities.

The Governor said that the state government was working to curb irregular migration by focusing on infrastructural development of the state to drive its vision of job creation and reducing the level of unemployment among the people.

He further noted that his administration was at the forefront of addressing insecurity through job creation, adding that Abia state under the present administration is actively engaged in 21st century opportunities that would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

"Abia has 51% unemployment and our major solution is to create jobs for the people. You cannot create jobs with infrastructural decay, lack of ease of doing business," Governor Otti said.

The Governor, while noting that the state government is supporting SMEs to do more, added that government is creating infrastructure that would make it difficult for people to leave the state.

He listed road infrastructure, electricity, social infrastructure, healthcare delivery system across the three senatorial zones of the state as some of the steps taken by his government to check irregular migration.

Governor Otti assured that the state government would do all within its powers to create opportunity for the people to do well in the state and compete favourably in the global job market.

The Governor said that Public Private Partnership is the way to go as it reinforces confidence of the people in any given system.

The Governor while assuring that his administration will support them in all aspect,requested the organization to consider setting up an office in the state considering the centrality of Abia to other South East/South South states who would also benefit from the Services therein.

In his speech earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr. Victor Lutenco, said they came to Abia because they found the Governor as an embodiment of trust and the new face of development and used the opportunity to seek partnership with the state towards achieving its objectives.

According to Lutenco, one of the important priorities of IOM is maximising the contribution of migration to development, pointing out that in the context of the Governor's transformation agenda, the work of IOM can be highly relevant and complementary.

He said the organisation assists in the development of policies and strategies for effective migration management, promote linkages between migration and development, plays crucial role in providing humanitarian aide to migrants in crisis situation and to displaced population among other services.