Dr. Alex Otti, the Abia State Labour Party candidate for the 2023 election says his government will ensure that people who buy lands in the state receive their certificates of occupancy (C-of-O) within one month of such purchase.
Otti, who flagged off his gubernatorial campaign on Thursday in Aba, at an event that pulled the entire national leadership of Labour Party, including the presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, made the pledge while speaking with the executives of Anambra Town Unions (ATU) in Aba.
The governorship front runner in Abia decried a situation where businesses and individuals buy lands and never get the proper documentation to show ownership, saying such lackadaisical attitude of governance is not acceptable to him.
“Our government will ensure that people who bought lands receive their certificates of Occupancy within one month. The idea of people buying lands and not getting their C-of-O is not acceptable to us. It is not rocket science! This will be part of our commitment to the ease-of-doing-business in Abia,” Otti told the town union executives, made up of prominent business men and women, including the president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ide John Udeagbala.
He promised that his government will return all properties seized by the present government of Okezie Ikpeazu and previous peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations in the state, on the pretence that they do not have C-of-O, saying that such political witch-hunt and persecution will not be condoned by the “in-coming Labour Party government” that he will lead.
Otti, a first-class economist and accomplished former bank chief executive officer, told his audience that his administration will be willing to partner with the ATU in implementing his developmental agenda for Abia State. He said this is important since virtually every member of the group is involved in trade and manufacturing.
“Our administration shall adopt programmes and policies intentioned to reward partnerships that would enable the rapid and integrated development of our economy, to create wealth for entrepreneurs and businesses, generate employment and make the state a leading investment destination across all major business interests,” he told the appreciative group.
On the issue of power, Otti, who, as the Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, played a critical role in the realisation of the Geometric Power Project and the carving out of Aba as an island, to be served by the Geometric grid, said he would work to expand the coverage to other parts of Abia State.
“We shall ensure the expansion of the island to cover the whole state to support other designated industrial and agro-production centres in Umuahia, Ohafia and other communities in the state,” he announced to the gathering.
The NACCIMA president, Udeagbala, who spoke at the meeting complained about the difficult business environment in Abia, evident in poor infrastructural development, including bad roads, lack of power and unfriendly tax regime.
Hinting on the electoral value of ATU, he told the Labour Party candidate that the association is made up of members from across 178 towns-cum-villages in Anambra. “When you multiply the membership of each union by 178, you know what you get,” he affirmed with an air of confidence.
– KAZIE UKO
