Governor Alex Otti has signed into law the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) bill, which was passed on December 8 by the Abia State House of Assembly.

The GADA, which is the first bill to be signed into law by the Governor since his assumption of office, seeks to give special developmental focus to Aba and encourage investors, among others.

Speaking shortly after assenting to the bill, Otti said establishing the GADA would give Aba special attention as a commercial hub.

The Governor said that Aba combines light manufacturing, heavy manufacturing, micro, small and medium-scale businesses and other trading activities.

He congratulated the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, his colleagues in the House of Assembly and members of the State Executive Council on the passage of the executive bill and stated that with the law, Aba rejuvenation has achieved legal backing to bring about the needed development.

Presenting the bill earlier for the Governor’s assent, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Abia State Ikechukwu Uwanna noted that the executive bill was passed into law by the House of Assembly on December 8, 2023.

Shedding light on the newly signed law, the Director-General of the GADA, Mr. Uche Ukeje, described the law as a special vehicle that would drive the development of Aba.

In other news, the Abia State Government says it is committed to making workers in the State happy through special packages.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture Okey Kanu stated this on Tuesday while briefing the press on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting at the Government House, Umuahia.

According to him, the government would design a plan to clear the leave allowances owed to workers in the state over time.

The Commissioner said that the Alex Otti-led administration is intentional and strategic in its activities to ensure Abians are positively impacted.

“Putting all these together, you see that this government is intentional, this government is very strategic, this government is very deliberate in these activities, you can see all these coming together; the road construction, putting very strong governance architecture in place, the ease of doing business, you can see that all those things are taking us somewhere, Abia is headed in a new direction, and that new direction is the new Abia we all strive to create,” he said.

Kanu reiterated that the importance of the newly signed “Greater Aba Development Authority” (GADA) cannot be over-emphasised as it is aimed at rebuilding Aba. He said by signing into law the GADA, Aba rejuvenation has metamorphosed into Greater Aba Development Authority and now has received impetus for the overall development of the commercial nerve centre.

According to him, the activities on road infrastructure are on course in Aba and Umuahia and three zones.

“So, road construction for us is a work in progress. The government has plans to provide alternative access roads in and out of the city (Osah Road, Umuahia) to ensure that during the Yuletide Abians and residents, even visitors in the State will not go through the usual gridlock that they used to experience before now,” he added.

He said that as part of plans to achieve ease of doing business, the government has ensured that issuance of Certificate of Occupancy in the State now takes place within 30 days.