Dike Onwuamaeze

The Abia State Government is targeting Turkey and other European investors to revive moribund textile, ceramic and other industries in the state.

The state government revealed this last week when the Special Adviser to the Governor of Abia State, on Promotion of Public Private-Private Partnership (PPP), Mr. Jerome Green-Amakwe and the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Dr. Salome Nkemakolam Obiukwu, hosted a press conference in Lagos State to announce the forthcoming “Abia Turkey Investment Summit/Product Exhibition.”

Speaking during the conference, the Technical Adviser to the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Abia State, Dr. Fidelis Uchenna Offor, said that the strategy is for the investors to come and partner with local companies, “for the things we already have capacity to produce.”

Offor said: “One of the things they are coming to do is not just to bring new investments. We have a lot of moribund industries thar we expect their owners to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with investors from Turkey to revive.We want to use it to transfer technology and they are coming with technical know-how. They are also coming with capital to revive those companies.

“They are going to work with our people and train them while we agree on technical management agreement. That is one. So, they are not just coming to invest on new industries, they are also coming to help us to revitalise those ones that dead. For instance, we have ceramic company in Umuahia, We have Abia Textile, machine tools factory and quite a number of them that are scattered there.”

He said that the purpose is for them to partner with local entrepreneurs and bring those industries back to life.

“We are going to midwife whatever agreement they will reach to ensure a win-win situation,” Offor said.

Shedding light on the oncoming summit, Green-Amakwe, said that Abia State Government Abia State government is hosting an international summit that will bring in businessmen and women from Turkey, Europe, other countries including local and international Investors to Abia State from November 25-27, 2025, at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, with the theme “Bridging Continents, Unlocking Prosperity.”

He said: “The administration of Dr. Alex Chioma Otti is committed to creating a more favourable investment environment for the people of the state and all investors who would like to identify with Abia and we are working assiduously with our partner, to host a successful investment summit in Umuahia.

“Through this investment summit, we seek to explore business opportunities across key sectors in Abia State, including manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing, textile, fashion, tourism and leatherworks, inergy and Infrastructure, trade and logistics, among others. Our key objective is to strengthen bilateral relations between Turkey, Abia and Nigeria at large. We intend to also showcase products and services to the dynamic African market. The summit would also provide opportunity for Business to Business (B2B) meetings to connect investors, exporters, and local enterprises as well as promote trade cooperation and strategic joint ventures.”

Speaking in the vein, Obiukwu said that it is the state government’s firm commitment to steer Abia to the forefront of trade, commerce and investment excellence in Nigeria in fuetherance of the state governor’s mission to redefine the economic narrative of our state and position Abia as the undisputed hub of enterprise and opportunities in the Southeast and beyond.

She said: “Under the leadership of Otti, our government remains unwavering in its commitment to economic transformation, industrial growth, and the empowerment of our people.”