Chairman of Greenfield Assets Limited Group and owners of Abia Mall, Dr. Paul Obanua, has lamented the pain of watching an investment he borrowed $10 million for to lie fallow for 10 years.
Shedding tears of joy, Obanua, who said this after a crucial meeting with the governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, expressed his excitement at his deliberations with the governor and possible partnership that is in the offing, “after watching an investment I borrowed $10 million to make lie fallow for 10 years.”
Speaking with the press, Obanua described Otti as receptive to development and possesses the requisite political will to develop Abia State, stating, “We are very excited that the governor, His Excellency Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, has granted us the audience we’ve not had in this state in the last 10 years, we are very excited and have our investors lined up to bring investments worth over N50 billion to Aba Mega Mall Space, to be converted into a manufacturing ecosystem and export hub.
“What is important in every leadership is the political will to do the right thing. If the leader is willing, the people will be willing and will follow. So, the people might be willing to have development; everybody wants development, if your political leaders lack the political will to do the right thing, no matter how beautiful the project is, it’s never gonna work.
“But, what we found in His Excellency Dr Otti is that he has that political will to bring development to this state. If you want to get his attention, just say development, you will get his attention, and you will be ready to face questions because he will bombard you with questions, if you don’t know what you are talking about, then you have failed.”
He expressed satisfaction with the outcome of his deliberations with the governor and further disclosed that he came and presented his new plans to the governor for the mall, which include manufacturing services and standardization for the hardworking and talented Abia entrepreneurs for improved productivity, especially garments and shoes.
He added, “We are here today to present our new initiative and plan for Aba Mega Mall to transform it into an industrial manufacturing park and export hub that can service US, Europe, Asia and Africa markets. What we are going to provide in the new proposed Aba Manufacturing Park and Export Hub is industrial manufacturing as a service to the entrepreneurs and artisans in the garments and shoes ecosystem.
“What that means is that we are going to have automated industrial garment cutting and sewing machines that would improve productivity for the garments and shoe manufacturers by more than 100 per cent.”
He averred that by working with the government, his organisation would provide power and standardization, as well as put certifications to those products so as to export them to create wealth for manufacturers and entrepreneurs in Aba and its environs.
He identified the lack of automated industrial cutting and sewing machines for garments and shoe producers as one of the problems of the manufacturers/artisans and offered to fill that gap.
Dr. Obanua, who sought the opinion and consideration of the governor in partnering with his organization in realizing its new vision and plan for the current Aba Mega Mall Space, thanked Governor Otti for his wonderful insights on how to make the abandoned Aba Mega Mall project come back alive.
Responding, Dr Otti said that his government is committed to partnering with genuine investors to bring a positive turnaround to the economy of the state, assuring the management of Greenfield Assets Limited that his administration would look into its request to find a way of bringing the long-abandoned Aba Mega Mall project back to life and ensure that its multi-million dollars assets are put into industrial use for the benefit of the people of Abia State.
Governor Otti, who directed that further engagements be done with the state government’s team, reiterated that he is in governance to create wealth for the people.
In a remark, the Chief Executive Officer of Anchoria Advisory Services and Financial Advisers to Greenfield Assets Group Limited, Mr Sam Chidoka, thanked Governor Otti for the warm and uncommon reception they were given.
He commended the governor for his humility and the humanity he has brought into governance, saying that they are praying for his success in politics as someone from the private sector, which would encourage others and serve as a reference point to ask people to vote those from the private sector if they eventually join politics.
With this new development, the hope of revitalization and resuscitation now stares the Aba Mega Mall Project in the face after it was commissioned in May 2015 and abandoned during the same period by the previous administration in Abia State.