As Abia State prepares to host its very first international trade fair, Governor Alex Otti has assured local and foreign businesses that “great experience” awaits them by participating in the fair.
Speaking at press conference in Umuahia Wednesday, Otti, represented by his Deputy, Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu, said that every arrangement aimed at making the maiden Aba International Trade Fair a success was going according to plan.
The trade fair, he said, “will be done on an international scale as we look forward to welcoming the global business community to Enyimba City, just in time for the yuletide shopping activities”.
According to him, 10,000 participants from other parts of Nigeria and beyond were being expected at the 10-day event billed to hold between November 28 and December 7, 2024.
“I would like to assure everyone that our commitment to working with ACCIMA and other partners to deliver a first-of-its-kind event remains firm,” he said.
Otti said that the trade fair would be delivered with aplomb following the efforts of the Planning Committee through “months of hard work and dedication, series of planning, strategizing, engagements with various stakeholder groups”.
He also said that the “expected influx of our people from various parts of the world to the state for the end of the year festivities and reunions” would add more colour to the event.
The Abia Deputy Governor said that his boss had delegated him to oversee the activities of this Planning Committee and “to ensure that there are no gaps or obstacles to the success of the Trade Fair”.
He, therefore, stated that the Abia Government “is intensely committed to the success of the 2024 Aba International Trade Fair, adding that it has thrown its full weight “to guarantee the smooth execution and delivery of the 10-day event”.
Emetu said that the Otti administration “abhors half measures” hence “I have no iota of doubt that with the efforts and resources that have been so far committed to this project, the only outcome we can expect is success”.
On security, the Deputy Governor said that
“government has practically taken measures to ensure that there will be no security threats or gaps before, during and after the Trade Fair”.
He assured participants that steps had been taken “to guarantee effective security arrangements for everyone no matter what part of the town they are staying in”.
The deputy governor said that security is top priority hence “government will go one step further for this Trade Fair by working effectively with all national and local security organisations to keep everyone who will be in Aba for the Trade Fair very safe”.
He said: “Security infrastructure and personnel shall be deployed at the venue of the Trade Fair for round-the-clock surveillance operations so as to guarantee the safety of the participants, their products and other critical infrastructure that will be set up at the venue”.
“Our assurance to everyone who is planning to participate in the 2024 Aba International Trade Fair is that they are coming to one of the safest and most-secured business destinations in the entire country”.
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo
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